Substances, mixtures and articles- what is what?

If you take a look at the REACH Regulation [1], you will notice right at the beginning that it talks about substances, mixtures and articles. In this case, substances mean pure substances. The meaning of “mixture” is also relatively clear – but what is meant by article? In this blog post, I deal with what an article is and how to make the distinction.

Why is there a distinction at all?

If a distinction is already made between pure substances and mixtures, why is another category necessary at all? The idea behind the classification is that for substances and mixtures the chemical composition is the decisive characteristic. In the case of articles, the composition is of course also relevant, but instead the form and function are in the foreground. Depending on what is involved, different obligations arise from the REACH Regulation. The distinction therefore influences the manufacturer in his further course of action. However, it is not always easy to decide whether it is a substance or mixture or an articles.

What is a substance/mixture?

What is decisive for a substance or a mixture is that the chemical composition is the main feature. If one buys a liquid cleaner, one is interested in the fact that limescale is dissolved and dirt is removed due to the ingredients. If you use water, which is also a liquid, you will hardly achieve the desired cleaning performance. The chemical properties are therefore in the foreground.

What is an article?

Imagine you need a new table for your living room. So you are looking for a top with legs on which you can place objects. Whether the top is made of wood, plastic or steel, and what the legs look like is irrelevant for the function. So in this case it is the shape of the product that matters, not the chemical composition. In this case, it is an article.

For many products, the distinction is not so clear. Therefore, a decision was made at EU level for some examples. For example, it was determined that a wire or a battery is an article, while a biro or an articulated light was defined as a mixture.

Conclusion

The decision whether a product is treated as a substance/mixture or an article has various implications, which we will cover in a later blog post. The distinction is often not easy to make. There is a good scheme [2] on the REACH-CLP Helpdesk pages to guide you. If you want to learn more about the difference between substances and mixtures in the safety data sheet, I recommend this blog post.

[1]          Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH Regulation), consolidated version of 01.10.2021

[2]         Guidance on the distinction between substances/mixtures and products, REACH-CLP Biocides Helpdesk website (German version)