Editorial

Anne-Sofie Andersson, Director, ChemSec

The SIN List has during the last year continued to influence the chemical policy agenda. Recently, an informal working group of EU Member States suggested a list of substances to prioritise for the REACH Candidate List which basically includes all the substances of the SIN List. We call this a success! A principle aim of the SIN List – to influence and speed up the EU regulatory process – is truly one step closer.

The SIN List has been updated with 89 new substances. This update of the SIN List is due to an extension of the list of substances classified within the European Union as CMRs – Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, or toxic to Reproduction. Based as always on the REACH criteria for Substances of Very High Concern, the SIN List 1.1 now contains 356 substances.

The update of the EU CLP Regulation in September resulted in 89 new substances and substance groups on the SIN List. Two of the Equivalent Concern substances on the SIN List 1.0, PFOS and Dibutyltin Dichloride, are now classified as CMRs (reproduction class 2) within the European Union.

On December 15th New York-based investment research firm RiskMetrics released their 2009 report “REACH: Strategic Risks and Opportunities.” The report uses the SIN List 1.1 update as a key element to highlight corporate exposure to potential regulatory action, management readiness, and strategic profit opportunities that may arise from REACH.

RiskMetrics and Henderson Global Investors hosted a webcast presenting the findings of the report, an update from 2008 findings, which used the new SIN List 1.1 to help investors identify those companies that will be positively and negatively affected by the evolution of the market as a result of REACH.