Updates to SVHC Candidate List under REACH

On 7 July 2017, the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) introduced one new Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) to the Candidate List, bringing the total number of entries on the list to 174. Meanwhile, the properties of another existing SVHC substance have also been updated. The new member included in the SVHC Candidate List is Perfluorohexane-1-sulphonic acid and its salts (PFHxS). PFHxS is in fact the first perfluorinated sulphonic acid being identified as a SVHC on the list because of its very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) properties. In addition, PFHxS is a known by- product during the synthesis of heptadecafluorooctane-1-sulphonic acid (PFOS). Given the similarity in structure, PFHxS could be used as an alternative for PFOS.

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