On December 18, 2020, the EU issued a positive ruling on CTAC authorization. The European gravure and embossing sector is therefore permitted to use chromium trioxide under the terms of the CTAC authorization until September 21, 2024.

European users of chromium trioxide must now comply with various regulations such as registering with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and carrying out annual workplace exposure and environmental emissions measurements. To help customers meet the requirements, country-specific webinars have been held and detailed discussions have been organized on how the new provisions need to be put into practice. Information about this can be found here.

For further help with implementing the new regulations, do not hesitate to get in touch – we’re happy to provide our customers or anyone interested with advice or support. Please contact our project manager Julian Rotter (j.rotter@kwalter.de) directly.

To ensure chromium trioxide can continue to be used even after the CTAC authorization period, and therefore beyond 2024, K.Walter worked intensively last year on the ChromeXtend authorization application. This application, tailored specifically to the gravure and embossing sector, aims to safeguard hard chrome plating using chromium trioxide for the long term, beyond CTAC.

Initial discussions with the ECHA before submitting the application went well and there was very positive feedback on the extensive survey in the industry last year. We are now pleased to announce that K.Walter has completed the application and submitted it to the ECHA in February. The ChromeXtend authorization application has requested an authorization period of 12 years. A decision on authorization and its ultimate duration is expected between the start and middle of 2023.

The ChromeXtend authorization initiative launched by K.Walter for the use of chromium trioxide in the gravure printing and embossing industry continues to be driven forward. An important milestone has now been reached:

In the past weeks, we have asked cylinder manufacturers based in the European Economic Area to participate in a survey for ChromeXtend. We are pleased to report that we received an extensive response from 80 % of the 121 locations contacted. The data will now be evaluated anonymously and prepared for the registration dossier. As a result of the numerous responses, it is possible to provide comprehensive evidence of the high safety standards in cylinder production and to demonstrate the economic consequences of a potential ban. We would like to thank the companies for their support!

The submission of the authorization application is planned for the end of 2020. As we continue to anticipate an authorization period for the CTAC application till September 2024, this provides a secure period for approving the ChromeXtend application.

On May 13, the CTAC application was again discussed in the REACH committee of the EU, but no final decision was taken.

We will keep you up to date on how the application is progressing in this newsletter and at www.kwalter.de. Should you have any specific questions on this matter, you can also e-mail our project manager Dr. Julian Rotter at any time at j.rotter@kwalter.de.

ChromeXtend is an initiative launched by K.Walter to secure an authorization from the European Commission that is tailored to the specific requirements of the gravure and embossing industry. The aim is to enable continued long-term use of chromium(VI), beyond 2024, in line with the highest possible safety standards.

We will keep you up to date on how the application is progressing in our helioscope newsletter and on our website. Should you have any specific questions on this matter, please feel free to contact us at any time by emailing chrome@kwalter.de.

The European Commission’s revised application for authorization needs to be voted on again at the REACH Committee’s next meeting. This vote will take place at the meeting on either November 19/20, 2019 or February 3/4, 2020.

The Commission is expected to continue supporting the CTACSub application and agree to the authorization of the uses covered by the application.

Despite the delays in the authorization process, downstream users will still be allowed to utilize chromium trioxide during the defined review period.

K.Walter will naturally keep its customers informed of any relevant changes in the authorization process. If you have any questions, please phone +49 (0)89 78596-0 or send an e-mail to chrome@kwalter.de.

The recent decision by the European Commission with regard to chromium authorization has resulted in the following change:

Although the EU Parliament has approved the draft, the European Commission is still to revise it. We do not anticipate there will be any major changes to the content of the draft. However, the indicated timeline will be extended. It can also be assumed that the review period as a whole will remain unaffected (September 21, 2024).

The next decision is likely to be made during the next REACH Committee meeting in mid-June. Although, on the whole, we can only speculate as to the outcome of this decision, we will nonetheless keep you up to date on developments and document all the necessary steps for you. In the meantime, should you have any questions, you can still reach us on +49 (0)89 78596-0 or by sending an email to chrome@kwalter.de.

Following the decision made by the REACH Committee on February 15, 2019, we are delighted to inform you of the following:

The European Commission has agreed to authorize the use of Cr(VI) for functional hard chrome plating (application 2, incl. “gravure”) for seven years. The authorization period begins on the sunset date of September 21, 2017 and is thus valid till September 21, 2024.

The following action plan (excerpt) has been drawn up in light of this decision: