Under the phthalate restriction in entry 51 of REACH Annex XVII, the exemption granted to motor vehicles within the scope of Directive 2007/46/EC officially expired on 7 January 2024. From that date, motor vehicles placed on the market must mandatorily comply with the relevant REACH phthalate restriction requirements.

Regulatory background

On 18 December 2018 the EU published a regulation amending entry 51 of Annex XVII on phthalate plasticisers. It increased the number of restricted substances in this entry to four (DBP, BBP, DEHP and DIBP) and extended the scope of the restriction from toys and childcare articles to all articles containing plasticised material.

"Plasticised material" means any of the following homogeneous materials:

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and polyurethane;

Any other polymers except silicone rubber and natural latex coatings (including polymer foams and rubber materials);

Surface coatings, anti-slip coatings and finishes, decals and printed designs;

Adhesives, sealants, paints and inks.

Specific requirements

From 7 July 2020, articles containing plasticised material that contains one or more of the above four phthalate plasticisers in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.1% by weight of the plasticised material may not be placed on the market.

Exemption

For the above restriction, the regulation granted a 42-month exemption to motor vehicles within the scope of Directive 2007/46/EC. That is, only motor vehicles placed on the market from 7 January 2024 onwards need to comply with this restriction.