As a consumer, you have the right to ask your supplier* whether the item that you have just purchased from him contains a substance of very high concern (SVHC- substance of very high concern). The purpose of this is to ensure risk-free use of items containing a SVHC. The list of substances of very high concern, updated twice a year, is available on the site of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
Your supplier must reply to you within 45 days from the date of receipt of your request. These substances are deemed to be present in an article when their concentration is at least 0.1% weight/weight (w/w). This requirement is described in article 33 of the Reach regulation.
You can also consult information on the hazardous substances that might be present in your product, in the new SCIP database.
It is important for the consumer to know that he has the right to ask. Belgium deems that an article does not lose its function if it is integrated in a more complex set of articles. The critical value of 0.1% must therefore be calculated as the average concentration for each article taken individually.
As a reminder, an article is an object which during production is given a special shape, surface or design which determines its function to a greater degree than doesits chemical composition.
Practical examples:
A sold button by itself is an article, this same button sold on a shirt is still an article by itself . Any concentration of a substance of very high concern will be identical in both scenarios.
Similarly, you can ask your supplier if the handles of your bicycle contain one or more SVHC. Calculation must be made for the handles taken individually and not in relation to the total weight of the bicycle.
*Supplier means any manufacturer or importer of an article, distributor or other actor in the supply chain placing an article on the market. You can directly ask the firm whose article you have purchased.
If the supplier does not respond within 45 days, please alert us by sending an e-mail to info@health.fgov.be