Entry 50 of Annex XVII to REACH Regulation restricts the presence of 8 PAHs in extender oils used for the manufacture of tyres. The proposed restrictions will extend the REACH Annex XVII, entry 50 that restricts the presence of PAHs in extender oils used for the manufacture of tyres.  It will apply to those parts of articles that prolonged or short-term repetitive contact with the skin or mouth. The proposed regulation states that:

limits on the PAH content in the accessible plastic or rubber parts of articles should be set, and the placing on the market of articles containing any of the PAHs in concentrations greater than 1mg/kg in those parts should be prohibited;

a lower limit value should be established for children. Therefore the placing on the market of toys and childcare articles, containing any of the PAHs in concentrations greater than 0.5mg/kg in their accessible plastic or rubber parts, should be prohibited;

the restriction should only apply to parts of articles that come into direct as well as prolonged or short-term repetitive contact with the human skin, or the oral cavity, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use; and articles or parts thereof which are only in short and infrequent contact with the skin or oral cavity should not be included within the scope of the restriction as the resulting exposure to PAHs would be insignificant. The text also calls for further guidance to be developed concerning the issue of contact.

8 PAHs include Benzo[a]pyrene, Benzo[e]pyrene, Benzo[a]anthracene, Chrysen, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[j]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene and Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene.

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