EU - Addition of Lead Restriction in PVC Under the REACH Regulation

​The European Union published the Commission Regulation on May 8 amending Entry 63 of Annex XVII to REACH Regulation regarding lead and its compounds in PVC.

Lead shall not be placed on the market or used in articles produced from polymers or copolymers of vinyl chloride (PVC) with a concentration of more than 0.1% by weight of the PVC material, effective November 29, 2024.

As industry in the Union has not been using lead stabilizers in PVC since 2015, this 18-month transition period is considered sufficient for most economic operators to be able to adapt to the new requirements, dispose of their stock and communicate relevant information on the restriction within the supply chains.

Moreover, there are derogations for certain PVC articles, e.g. PVC articles containing recovered flexible PVC, PVC articles containing recovered rigid PVC, PVC-silica separators in lead acid batteries, etc.