According to the WTO notification, the EU Commission has drafted an amendment to REACH Annex XVII to ban textile articles containing more than 0.01% NPEO from being sold within the EU.
The draft regulation is planned for later this year with a 60months transitional period.
NPEO are used in various industries as detergents, emulsifiers and surfactants. NPEO are known as toxic for aquatic species and will degrade to alkyl phenols, which are classified as carcinogenic. In the textile industry NPEO are still used as detergents in washing process or as coloring aids in the dying process.
NPEO have already been restricted by Annex XVII of REACH regulation due to these environmental risks. However, articles imported into the EU still contain residual amount of NPEO. The draft regulation will restrict textile articles containing more than 0.01% NPEO. All textile articles which are placed on the market need to comply with the new requirement after date 60 months after entry into force.
Table 1. Amendment in detail
In Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, the following new entry 46a is added:
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Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEO) (C2H4O)nC15H24O |
1. Shall not be placed on the market after [date 60 months after entry into force] in textile articles which can reasonably be expected to be washed in water during their normal lifecycle, in concentrations equal to or greater than 0.01% by weight of that textile article or of each part of the textile article. 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the placing on the market of second-hand textile articles or to new textile articles produced exclusively from recycled textiles. 3. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, "textile article" means any unfinished, semi-finished or finished product which is composed of at least 80% textile fibres by weight, or any other product that contains a part which is composed of at least 80% textile fibres by weight. |
Further Information：
stq-nl-15011e EU Drafts NPEO Ban in Textiles