Dear All, In August 2014, the German Committee for Product Safety has determined the new requirements for PAHs evaluation and testing for the GS Mark Certification. It aims to align with the upcoming REACH Annex XVII PAHs requirements in consumer products. Comparing with existing ZEK 01.4-08, major changes are limits and categories. The new PAHs requirements are mandatory for GS-Certification from 1st July 2015 and the document ZEK 01.4-08 will be invalid from 30th June 2015. All products applying for GS certification will be affected such as electrical and electronic equipment, toys, mechanical products etc. In order to ensure a smooth transition to the new requirements, current projects should already be evaluated according to the new requirements. Significant changes of new PAHs requirements:· Update the limit of PAHs: o Specify individual limits of 10 PAHs § Benzo[e]pyrene; Benzo[a]anthracene; Benzofluoranthene; Benzo[j]fluoranthene; Benzo[k]fluoranthene; Chrysene; Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene; Benzo[g,h,i]perylene; lndeno[1‚2,3-cd]pyrene; Naphthalene o Add the limit for the sum of 7 PAHs § Acenaphthylene, Acenaphthene, Fluorene, Phenanthrene, Pyrene, Anthracene, Fluoranthene o Sharply decrease the limit of benzo[a]pyrene and the sum of 18 PAHs for categories 2 and 3. · Amend the scope of categories 2 and 3: o Category 2 newly includes materials with repeated short term skin contact. o Categories 2 and 3 are divided into two groups: toys according to EU Directive 2009/48/EC and all other products according to ProdSG (Germany Product Safety Act) % o* k& u8 }7 F+ d7 H! Z2 F7 B
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