| The European Commission has notified WTO (G/TBT/N/EU/131) of Draft Commission Regulation amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) as regards chromium VI compounds. In Annex XVII to REACH regulation, new requirements will be added in Column 2 of entry 47.
The draft Regulation prohibits the placing on the market of leather articles and articles containing leather parts if the content of chromium VI is equal to or greater than 3 mg/kg of the total dry weight of leather in the leather article or the leather parts. The draft Regulation proposes to provide for derogation from the restriction, for consumers who want to resell second-hand articles.
Chromium VI compounds are formed in leather through the oxidation of chromium III compounds. Chromium III compounds are added in some tanning processes to cross-link the collagen subunits in order to increase leather's dimensional stability as well as its resistance to mechanical action and heat. Exposure to chromium VI contained in leather articles or leather parts of articles, coming into contact with the skin, poses a risk to human health. When in contact with the skin, chromium VI and its compounds can induce sensitisation and elicit allergic reactions at very low concentrations in already sensitised persons.
The regulation is proposed to entry into force in the first quarter 2014 and is expected to be applied in the first quarter of 2015.
The draft regulation could be found at: https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2013/tbt/EEC/13_2716_00_e.pdf
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