SCIP – visibility over hazardous chemicals in products

On September 14, 2021, the new SCIP Dissemination Portal by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) went live, giving the public access to information about substances of concern (SVHC) in articles as such or in complex objects (Products). The portal’s launch increases the transparency over chemicals of concern in products and will help track products containing substances of very high concern until they reach the waste stage. It also allows consumers to make more informed purchasing decisions and to choose safer products.

Since January 2021, companies that supply articles containing substances of very high concern (SVHC) on the Candidate List in a concentration above 0.1% weight by weight (w/w) in the EU market have been required to submit information on these articles to the ECHA. The notifications are stored in the SCIP (Substances of Concern in Products) database, and will be publicly available via the portal throughout the entire lifecycle of the products and materials – including the waste stage – contributing to a safer circular economy.

In a recent announcement, the ECHA said that around 6,000 companies across the European Union have already complied with this new obligation, with more than four million relevant article notifications registered in the SCIP database.

Based on the information gathered so far, the most notified product categories include:

• Machinery and their parts
• Measuring instruments and their parts
• Electronic equipment and their parts
• Vehicles and their parts
• Articles made of rubber
• Furniture. 

Who needs to submit information?

Companies that supply articles containing substances of very high concern (SVHC) on the Candidate List in a concentration above 0.1% weight by weight (w/w) in the EU market are required to submit, including:

• EU producers and assemblers
• EU importers
• EU distributors of articles and other actors who place articles on the market.

Retailers and other actors that supply articles directly to consumers are not obligated to submit this information to ECHA.

What information needs to be submitted?

• Information relevant to the identification of the article;
• Name, concentration range, and location of the SVHC; and
• Other information on the safe use of the article, particularly if the above information is not sufficient to ensure the proper management of the article as waste.

 Do you have any questions about how the new SCIP database requirements affect your business?