In 2023, Bureau REACH took action on two dossiers for Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC). The first SVHC dossier concerns dibutyl phthalate (DBP).
This substance was placed on the candidate list in 2014 for being endocrine-disrupting for humans. At the proposal of the Netherlands, the substance is now also identified as endocrine-disrupting for the environment. This SVHC dossier contributed to reaching a consensus on which types of effects a substance can be considered endocrine-disrupting for the environment.
In 2023, the Netherlands withdrew an SVHC proposal for Coal Tar Pitch High Temperature-Heat Treated (CTPHT-HT). The reason for this is that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) prefers to treat all oil products containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a group approach. The goal is to prevent "regrettable substitution." The Netherlands is now considering preparing a Harmonised Classification and Labelling (CLH) dossier for this substance.