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As part of the European Union (EU) Waste Framework Directive (WFD) (2008/98/EC), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has built a database for storing safe-use information for substances of very high concern (SVHCs) present in articles placed on the market in the EU. It is referred to as the Substances of Concern In articles, as such or in complex objects (Products) (SCIP) database.
The EU WFD and SCIP database add to existing reporting requirements managed under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation; the same companies are in scope. The ECHA has outlined three goals for the database:
- Decrease waste containing hazardous substances by supporting substitutions of SVHCs in articles entering the EU market.
- Increase transparency into product composition to improve waste treatment operations.
- Allow for the monitoring of SVHC use in articles so appropriate actions may be taken at any stage of an article’s lifespan, including the waste stage.
What Information Should Be Submitted to the SCIP Database?
The SCIP database improves safety for waste operators and enhances their ability to process waste materials, including the potential to remove hazardous substances from materials before recycling, by providing the necessary information about hazardous substances. This increased transparency also aids consumers in making responsible purchasing decisions and disposing of waste safely, where appropriate.
Companies must provide sufficient information to allow for the safe use and disposal of articles when SVHC concentration is above threshold. This information should:
- Allow for the correct identification of the article.
- Make the name, concentration and location of the Candidate List substance(s) clear.
- Provide any information needed for the safe use of the article, especially anything that enables proper management in the waste stage.
Creating SCIP Dossiers in the IUCLID Format
From January 5, 2021, the revised EU WFD requires all manufacturers, importers, and distributors within the EU to make submissions to the SCIP database. To do this, companies need to build and submit dossiers in the IUCLID format, or leverage a solution like Assent’s that provides such services for companies, including system-to-system data transmission. To learn more about the complex submission process, watch this quick video.
Who Needs to Provide Information?
Companies placing products on the EU market must make submissions to the database for any article that contains SVHCs. This includes companies based both within and outside of the U.S. Retailers are not in scope, but the distributors they purchase from are. Any company may submit voluntarily.
While manufacturers or sellers outside the EU that do not place products on the market are not directly responsible for reporting, it is important to collect and manage this information to support importers or other actors who are in scope. The deadline for making submissions to the database is on January 5, 2021.
How Assent Simplifies the Process
Assent’s EU WFD Module offers a range of benefits for companies, including:
- Acquiring the EU WFD data you need to create your SCIP dossiers.
- Performing duty holder evaluations to determine who is responsible for the data.
- Generating reports on all EU WFD and SCIP data collected from suppliers.
- Updating your program and refreshing your data as the legislation expands.
- Providing due diligence progress overviews from visual dashboards.
- Storing and managing your part records from a secure, centralized database.