New SCIP database will improve transparency on hazardous substances in articles
17/08/2020
Article by Mr. Bo Balduyck and Telmo J. V. Prazeres (ECHA European Chemicals Agency) included in EDI Special Publication 2020
The new SCIP database will contain information on substances of concern in articles, as such or in complex objects (products).
The aim is to promote the substitution of hazardous chemicals and a circular economy by providing waste operators with additional data on the presence of hazardous substances in articles that are becoming waste.
Authorities can use the database as a tool to monitor and help identify the substances of concern that are present in articles. It will also allow them to consider the need for further regulatory actions.
For consumers, the database offers information that will help them make more informed purchase decisions.
Information to be submitted to ECHA.
Companies placing articles on the EU market will need to submit the following to the SCIP database:
• Information relevant to the identification of the article or complex object (product)
• Name, concentration range and location of the substance of very high concern (SVHC) on the ECHA
Candidate List
• Other information on the safe use of the article, in particular, if the above information is not sufficient
to ensure proper management of the article as waste
The information made publicly available on articles will not include any confidential business information. This means that, for example, the concentration of the substance in the article is collected in ranges, not in exact amounts.
ECHA’s Candidate List currently contains 205 substances of very high concern and it is updated twice a year with new substances.
Who needs to provide information?
An SVHC on the Candidate List must be present in an article in a concentration above 0.1 % weight by weight to trigger the submission requirement. The majority of articles on the EU market do not contain these substances and therefore do not need to be notified to the database.
The following suppliers of articles will need to provide information to the SCIP database as of January 2021:
• EU producers and assemblers
• EU importers
• EU distributors of articles and other actors who place articles on the market
Retailers and other actors supplying articles directly to consumers do not need to provide information to it.
How could the SCIP database benefit the construction waste sector?
The SCIP database will include information:
• On the categories of complex objects and articles based on their use and function (product families)
• On the materials the articles are made of
• On the concentration range of the SVHCs in the articles
This information (to be made available by ECHA) may support the construction waste sector in improving current waste management practices and approaches to foster the use of waste as a resource.
For instance, it could support the segregation of waste containing SVHCs in renovation and demolition activities and to identify material-based streams that could be impacted by the presence of SVHCs. In this context, it could also contribute to innovation and emergence of new waste treatment technologies for this sector.
