Restrictions are a tool to protect human health and the environment from unacceptable risks posed by some chemicals. Restrictions, described in Annex XVII of Regulation 1907/2006 (REACH), may limit or ban the manufacture, placing on the market or use of a substance. Restrictions to which substances are potentially subjected have to be reported in Section 15 of the SDS.
Last May 8th 2023, a new amendment of Annex XVII has been published in the form of Regulation 2023/923, adding new measures regarding lead and its compounds in PVC describes in entry n. 63
Regulation 2023/923 adds, among others, the following measures to the list of enforced provisions linked to the presence of Restriction 63:
Lead and its compounds shall not be placed on the market as-is or used in articles produced from PVC if the lead concentration is ≥ 0.1% w/w of the PVC material from November 29th 2024 or May 28th 2025 if the PVC article contains recovered flexible PVC.
The aforementioned measure applies from May 28th 2033 to a specific list of types of articles containing recovered rigid PVC (such as profiles and sheet or multi-layer pipes) if the lead concentration is < 0.1% of the recovered PVC.
Furthermore, the label of articles containing recovered rigid PCV with lead in concentration ≥ 0.1% by weight of the PVC material must include the statement “Contains ≥ 0.1% lead”.