The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on June 10, 2022, that n-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide has been added to the Candidate List as it may cause cancer or genetic defects. According to ECHA, it is mostly used in polymers and when manufacturing other chemicals, textiles, leather, or fur.
Candidate List substances may be placed on the Authorization List in the future. If a substance is on that list, its use will be prohibited unless companies apply for authorization and the European Commission (EC) authorizes them to continue its use. Under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, companies have legal obligations when their substance is included in the Candidate List. Suppliers of articles containing a Candidate List substance above a concentration of 0.1 percent (weight by weight) must give their customers and consumers enough information to be able to use them safely. Consumers have the right to ask suppliers whether the products they buy contain substances of very high concern (SVHC).
Importers and producers of articles must notify ECHA if their article contains n-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide within six months from the date it has been included in the list, June 10, 2022. Suppliers of substances on the Candidate List, supplied either on their own or in mixtures, have to provide their customers with a safety data sheet (SDS). Under the Waste Framework Directive, companies also have to notify ECHA if the articles they produce contain SVHCs in a concentration above 0.1 percent (weight by weight). This notification is published in ECHA’s substances of concern in products (SCIP) database.