CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

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Your regular update for technical and industry information

EN 12472:2020: Simulated Abrasion and Corrosion Test for Nickel Release is Now Revised

DECEMBER 2020 - ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS, HARDLINES, SOFTLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

In September 2020, the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) published the standard of EN 12472:20201. It is a testing method for the simulation of accelerated wear and corrosion for the detection of nickel release from coated items. 

The updated standard is related to entry 27 of Annex XVII in REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006. This entry restricts the nickel release from the post assemblies which are inserted into pierced parts of human body and articles with direct and prolonged skin contact.  According to this restriction, a period of at least two years of normal use should be considered for the articles with direct and prolonged skin contact containing non-nickel coating. Therefore, CEN developed the standard EN 12472 for the simulation of accelerated wear and corrosion for the detection of nickel release from coated items.

European Member States have begun to adopt the new standard and publish their own national versions. The contents of the adopted standards are the same as the one published by the CEN. For example, DIN EN 12472:20202 is the version adopted by Germany. The latest date to adopt the new standard by national level is 31 March 2021.

Please refer to below for the highlights of changes in the new version.

  • Revised the legal reference from Directive 94/27/EC to REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006;
  • Updated the terms of “items” to “articles” to reflect the terminology of the REACH regulation;
  • Updated the normative references;
  • Clarified the products which are within the scope of this standard. Products with an external coating containing nickel and those that are inserted into pierced parts of the human body are excluded from the scope of this standard;
  • Clarified the concentration of the lactic acid stock solution;
  • Amended the requirements for granules;
  • Revised the informative Annex A.3 for glasses frames.

 

[1]  EN 12472:2020

[2]  DIN EN 12472:2020

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