New substances added to REACH Candidate List

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recently issued two updates to the REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs), on 5^th November 2025 and 4^th February 2026.

These amendments added new three substances, summarised below:

• 1,1’-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis[pentabromobenzene] (DBDPE) (CAS: 84852-53-9) – used in adhesives, sealants and coatings. May also be used as a leather treatment and as a flame retardant for polymeric materials.
• n-hexane (CAS: 110-54-3) – used as a solvent in the production of adhesives for the footwear and furniture industries and in the manufacture of polymers. May also be used as a cleaning agent for textiles and leathers.
• 4,4'-[2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethylidene]diphenol (bisphenol AF) and its salts – used in the manufacture of specialised polymers such as polyimides, polyamides, polyesters and polycarbonate copolymers.

The Candidate List is typically updated twice annually (in January and July), although new substances may occasionally be listed at other times throughout the year. In 2024 and 2025, additional updates occurred in November, although it is not clear if this will continue to be the case in future years.

DBDPE was added to the list on 5^th November 2025, with n-hexane and bisphenol AF being added on 4^th February, bringing the total number of SVHCs to 253. Companies have six months after addition to adhere to any legal obligations that may apply. This includes registering any products containing more than 0.1 per cent of any SVHCs on the SCIP database and submitting a notification to ECHA if more than 1 tonne of the SVHC is imported annually. Currently, the obligations for the three new substances apply within the European Union only, as the substances have not yet been classified as SVHCs under UK REACH.

All three substances are potentially relevant to consumer goods, and n-hexane is particularly applicable to the footwear and furniture industries due to its use in adhesives intended for these purposes. It is recommended that brands take steps to investigate whether they could be present above 0.1 per cent in their products. This may include obtaining declarations from suppliers, or reviewing MSDS data and production processes.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the March 2026 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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