Substance in Solvent Phases 1-3 Complete

At the OSPAR Offshore Industry Committee (OIC) 2019 meeting it was agreed that additional measures should be introduced to assess substance in solvent (SiS) whereby biodegradability data for both the solvent and solute is required to address concerns that organic solvent could mask the biodegradability of the solute (see earlier bulletin board post: Substance in Solvent - Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science))

In 2022 Cefas rolled out the new registration requirements regarding the biodegradation of SiS in a 3-phase approach with the final deadline for data submission being December 2023 and implementation of Phase 3 finishing in April 2024. 

The final phase, addressing chemicals containing 10-30% solvent, completes the implementation of SiS with additional substances not captured as part of the 3-phase implementation plan to be considered as part of the routine hazard assessment carried out by Cefas going forward.

As such all submissions to OCNS for hazard assessment will be expected to comply with the SiS requirements already outlined by Cefas and HOCNF’s should be completed accordingly with a comprehensive description of components that are SiS including data for solvents and solutes and whether these have been derived experimentally, from literature or by calculation.

The alternative approaches available to suppliers to deal with substances in solvent remain in place and Cefas expect to publish additional guidance on the topic once the SiS implementation process is reviewed.