On 26 July 2023, the French Ministry for Ecological Transition opened a public consultation on the Anses’ draft Regulatory Management Option Analysis (RMOA) on Octocrylene, used in cosmetics as a UV filter. The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety says it is awaiting the views of stakeholders on its recommendation to restrict the substance under the REACH Regulation.
Octocrylene is currently being assessed by the French Anses. Its work has already led to the identification of “the existence of unacceptable risks for the aquatic environment for some of the uses of octocrylene, some of which concern cosmetics.”
The Anses has therefore drawn up a draft RMOA to present these elements and propose appropriate regulatory management measures. This draft has been sent to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
The Agency studied several regulatory management measures, such as CLP classification or SVHC identification, but concluded that these measures were inadequate.
At this stage, it recommends introducing a restriction (partial or complete ban, or condition(s) applied to uses) under the REACH Regulation, with the aim of limiting the release of octocrylene into the environment for uses presenting unacceptable risks.
During this consultation, the Anses is awaiting information on:
• Available alternatives to Octocrylene, in particular when used as a UV filter
• Biomonitoring data
• Data on the uses of Octocrylene
After the consultation
This consultation is open until 15 September 2023.
The Anses will then finalise its RMOA, after which the French Government will draw up a conclusions document with, if appropriate, a proposal to bring restrictive measures, or even …
