For bisphenol A (BPA), a wealth of scientific studies is already available, and the responsible European authorities have already finished their risk assessment of BPA. They concluded in their assessment that BPA is safe for its applications and intended uses.
REACH places new duties on manufacturers and importers of chemical substances and requires them to register their uses.
Polymers, such as polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, are exempt from Registration, but the monomer from which they are made, Bisphenol-A (BPA), is not. The deadline for Registration depends on the tonnage manufactured or imported. For BPA it is 1 December 2010.
The leading manufacturers of BPA have joined to prepare a consistent registration dossier for BPA and have launched the BPA REACH consortium. The BPA REACH consortium secretariat can be contacted under consortium@reachcentrum.eu.
Under REACH, "substances of very high concern" may be subject to "Authorisation" in order to ensure that the risks from these substances are properly controlled. BPA does not fulfil the criteria for a "substance of very high concern."
Moreover, given the "no risk" conclusions of the recently updated EU Risk Assessment, published in the summer of 2008, which stated that there is no concern for consumers or the environment, BPA does not fulfil the requirements to be subject to the Authorisation process.
More detailed information on the obligations for BPA manufacturers and importers can be found in the fact sheets below. For any questions related to BPA which are not covered in these fact sheets please contact us directly.
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