REACH Annex XVII azo dyes testing methods and other restrictions are amended officially

  1. March, 2013

Relevant for: Softlines

On 14 February 2013, Regulation (EU) No 126/2013 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to amend REACH Annex XVII and some of the Appendices.  These changes are effective from 6 March 2013.

There are no significant changes compared with the draft proposal that we discussed previously in  E-ssentials Volume 57 except for the azo dyes testing methods. EN 14362-3:2012 has been added as the new official testing method for the presence of 4-aminoazobenzene in textiles and leather. Table A shows the updated testing methods for azo dyes.

Annex XVII entry 42 on the restriction of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) has been removed due to its inclusion in the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation, which has been effective since 11 January 2013.  Please note that this new restriction is stricter than the previous one under REACH by including articles in its scope.  For details, please refer to E-ssentials Volume 55.

Table A: Updated azo dyes testing methods

Reference and title of the harmonised standard

Reference of the superseded standard

EN ISO 17234-1:2010

Leather - Chemical tests for the determination of certain azo colorants in dyed leathers - Part 1: Determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants

CEN ISO/TS 17234:2003

EN ISO 17234-2:2011

Leather - Chemical tests for the determination of certain azo colorants in dyed leathers - Part 2: Determination of 4-aminoazobenzene

CEN ISO/TS 17234:2003

EN 14362-1:2012

Textiles - Methods for determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants - Part 1:Detection of the use of certain azo colorants accessible with and without extracting the fibres

EN 14362-1:2003

EN 14362-2:2003

EN 14362-3:2012

Textiles – Methods for determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants – Part 3: Detection of the use of certain azo colorants, which may release 4-aminoazobenzene

(This is a new standard.)


References:
Regulation (EU) No 126/2013
TÜV SÜD E-ssentials Volume 57
TÜV SÜD E-ssentials Volume 55