China Drafts List of Substances Restricted in Consumer Products

China's National Consumer Product Safety Standardisation Technical Commission has consulted on a draft list of substance restrictions in consumer products.

The list combines a number of existing Chinese standards and, where no domestic standard exists, it refers to restrictions based on EU and other foreign legislation. The draft – which is similar to the consumer restrictions set out in the EU's REACH Annex XVII – includes 103 chemicals and proposes limit values for their use in consumer products such as toys, textiles, coatings, paints, decoration materials and furniture.

The Commission (SAC/TC 508) consulted on the draft national standard – Safety requirements for hazardous chemicals in consumer products – in late March. The consultation ended 15 April, but a source in China says companies can still submit comments via industry associations.

The restricted substances include:

heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium VI, Lead, mercury and nickel;

phthalates;

certain alkanes and alkenes;

haloalkenes;

phenols;

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; and

aldehydes.

Hazardous substances not restricted under REACH include:

benzothiazole-2-thiol (MBT). An EU-wide restriction has been recommended for this substance by Germany under the REACH substance evaluation process, Corap;

Antioxidants (2, 2) 6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol; and

2,2'-methylene-bis (4-methyl-6-tert-butylphenol).