what am i, a substance, a mixture or an article?

© 2016 SUKHRAJ TAKHAR ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Handlebars(possibly paint coated /

plated)

Seat(plastic / rubber)

Tyres(plastic / rubber)

Chain(degreaser /

anti-rust)

Brakepads( Degreaser / Metal

Plated / Rubber)

Painted Frame

Handle bar grips (DEHP)

Pedals (plastic / rubber)

Brake and gear cable (plastic)

What Am I – Substance, Mixture or Article?

Disclaimer: The intention of this presentation is to discuss simple object identification and classification.

Created by: Raj Takhar, PhD ResearcherFirst Published: August 2016


Contents• Introduction• Some Simple Definitions• Objects• Shape, Surface, Design• Example Substances, Mixtures and Articles• Other Considerations


IntroductionThis document is part of a series of LinkedIn posts authored by myself entitled “Searching the path towards sustainable chemical substance reporting.”

Please spare some time to read through the posts as they are an integral part of understanding this topic.

If you have any comments please email me [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


Some Simple DefinitionsTerm Meaning

Substance Lowest level ingredient.

Byproduct

Mixture

Coating

An Article can be defined as "An object composed of one or more substances or mixtures given a specific, shape or design". This essentially means that a substance or mixture forms into an article when it is converted into a functional shape (a shape important to its role).

A substance which is produced during the manufacturing / processing of other chemical substances.

Two or more substances combined. Often referred to as a formulation.

A thin layer of material applied onto the surface to provide lubrication, wear prevention, lubrication, corrosion, resistance to high temperatures, or other purposes. A coating can be less than 1 mm in thickness.

Plating Forms a layer of metal on a surface.

Article

Article Importer An Article Importer can be defined as "Any company located inside the EEA that imports articles from countries that are located outside the EEA."

Article SupplierAn Article Supplier can be defined as "Place articles on the market in the EEA. Thus, the role of article supplier is irrespective of whether the supplier produces the articles himself or whether he purchases them (inside or outside of the EEA)."

Part DescriptionA part description can be defined as the descriptive name by which an article is called by the article producer, for example a bolt, a tin of degreaser, a bottle of window cleaner. Part descriptions are meant to be generalised names, not specific product names.


ObjectsWe shall start our analysis by using the phrase ‘object’ as the starting reference point to describe an entity which then needs to be then categorized as either substance, mixture or article.

Consider:• What is the function of an object? – What is the intended use of the

object?• Shape, surface and design of the object – Physical form as determined by

the production process. Shape, Surface or Design are really important to understand as chemical regulations focus on how an article is transformed as part of the production process.

• Physical form > chemical composition?

There is a degree of analysis and determination which must take place to decide if a object is indeed an article or not.


What Is The Function of The Object? (i)

Look at the object, object on the left.

What types of features do you think it has? – think about the shape, angles, edges .

Does this result in displaying the use of the object? – things may never appear as they first seem.

Determine the function of an object. Lets begin with a simple example:


What Is The Function of The Object? (ii)

The purpose of this example is to show, that simply viewing an object at first glance does not necessarily mean its functions are instantly determined.

This is a problem for producers, an object may be created for a specific function, which in turn results in different functions as consumers view the object.

The shape on the previous page is actually a vane, which inserted into higher assembly which then becomes a disc which is part of a jet engine.


What Is The Function of The Object? (iii)Here is the classic example. This infamous blue pill, which started off life as a beta-blocker for senior people.

Obviously as history has shown us, the function of this object ended up being completely something else.

Imagine this, as just as an object which was made with one SVHC substance, and was registered for one use (the beta blocker), would it be as popular today as a result of this?


What Is The Function of The Object? (iv)Human beings have an amazing capability to design objects from conceptual thoughts, into drawings and then into a physical form.

The design intent of an object can be considered the original purpose of an object, which should be viewed as the basic use of the object.


Shape

Square Triangle Rectangle Circle Pentagon

Diamond

Hexagon Octagon Oval Star

CylinderSphere

Pyramid

Cone Cuboid

Shapes, simple geometry objects …...

Shape • 2-D or 3-D form of an object.• Elements of design to accomplish a particular purpose of an

object / article.


Surface, DesignSurface• The outermost layer of an article.

Design• The main reason for use of an article.

2-D Geometry 3-D Geometry


Physical Form Versus Chemical Composition

Shape, Surface and Design relate to the physical form of an object.

Chemical Characteristics relate to material composition of the object.


Substance?, Mixture? or ArticleThe figure below shows the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), which is a really useful aid:

1. Identify Object Function

2. Is the Shape / Surface / Design function

> than the chem

ical com

position?

3. Does the object

contain a substance / mixture

that can be separated from

the object?

4. (a) If the substance/mixture w

as separated from the

object, and used independently, would the substance/

mixture still be capable in principle of carrying out the

function defined under step 1?

(b) Does the object act mainly (as per the function

defined under step 1) as a container or carrier for release or controlled delivery of the substance/m

ixture or its reaction products?

(c ) Is the substance/mixture consum

ed (chemical or

physical modification) or elim

inated (released from the

object) during the use phase of the object, thereby rendering the object useless?

5. (a) (If the substance/mixture w

ere to be removed or

separated from the object, w

ould the object be unable to fulfil its intended purpose?

(b) Is the main purpose of the object other than to

deliver the substance/mixture or its reaction products?

(c ) Is the object normally discarded w

ith the substance/m

ixture at the end of its service life, i.e. at disposal?

6. (a) Does the object have a function other than being further processed?

(b) Does the seller place the object on the market and/

or is the customer m

ainly interested in acquiring the object because of its shape/surface/design (and less because of its chem

ical composition)?

(c) When further processed, does the object undergo

only “light processing”, i.e. no gross changes in shape?

(d) When further processed, does the chem

ical com

position of the object remain the sam

e?

Object

Object consists of a

substance or mixture

and an article

Yes

Mostly N

o

No

Object is an article

Object is a substance

or mixture

Mostly N

o

Mostly Yes

NoMostly N

oM

ostly Yes

Yes

Not possible to unam

biguously conclude yes or no

Picture Courtesy of 'ECHA - Guidance on requirements in articles', Version 4.0, July 2016


Example Substances, Materials and ArticlesThe examples shown in the table below will be used throughout this presentation to show different calculation methods (additional examples are provided in the Appendix One):

Example Substance / Mixture / Article Comments

Blasting Grit Mixture Detail SVHC name(s).

Electrical CableArticle and a mixture. Copper wire considered an article, with PVC coating a mixture which is applied to it.

Detail SVHC name(s).

PC Computer Very complex article Detail SVHC name(s) and a part description.

SofaArticle consisting of several articles. The sofa is made up from several sub-components which contain SVHC’s (cushion foam / cover)

Detail SVHC name(s) and a part description.

Plastic Chair Considered as single article as single injection moulded article. Detail SVHC name(s).

Mixture as its mix of wax and colour pigments. Composition is more important than physical shape. Detail SVHC name(s).Wax Crayon

Printer Cartridge Article (as an ink container); or as a substance/mixture in relation to contained ink. Detail SVHC name(s).

BicycleArticle consisting of several articles. The bicycle is made up from several sub-components which contain SVHC’s (handle grips)

Detail SVHC name(s) and a part description.

Thermometer Article containing a liquid Detail SVHC name(s).

Aero Engine Very complex article Detail SVHC name(s) and a part description.

Printed T-Shirt Article (in finished state) which contains a substance/mixture (Painted ink) Detail SVHC name(s).


Simple Example A – Aero Engine• An aero engine can be considered as Very

Complex Article, made up of potentially several thousand smaller articles (as these may be sold as separate spare parts).

• Identify material / process specifications which contain an SVHC

Image Courtesy of : Pratt and Whitney

Simple Example B – BicycleHandlebars

(possibly paint coated / plated)

Seat(plastic / rubber)

Tyres(plastic / rubber)

Chain(degreaser /

anti-rust)

Brakepads( Degreaser / Metal

Plated / Rubber)

Painted Frame

Handle bar grips (DEHP)

Pedals (plastic / rubber)

Brake and gear cable (plastic)

• The bicycle is a Article made up from several smaller articles, some of which are shown in the figure to the left.

• These smaller articles may be sold as spares, as such the may contain SVHC’s > 0.1% w/w.


Simple Example C – Electrical Cable• Examine a simple electrical cable.• The cable is made up of copper wire which is

protected by a PVC coating.• The complete cable can be considered as an

Article, whilst the PVC applied to it is considered a Mixture.

Simple Example D – Personal Computer (PC)• PC made up from several smaller articles.• It can be considered A Very Complex

Article


Simple Example E – Plastic Chair• Injection moulded Article

Simple Example F – Printer Cartridge• Inkjet printer cartridge which fulfils 2 roles:

– (a) As a container of ink (Article)– (b) The ink substance and mixture itself

(Mixture)

Image Courtesy of : Hewlett Packard


Simple Example G – Printed T-Shirt• Article

Simple Example H – Sofa• Article consisting of several articles

Image Courtesy of : Coca-Cola


Simple Example I – Thermometer• Thermometer is classed as an Article containing a liquid

(substance / mixture).

Other Considerations• Packaging is considered as being not be part of the

substance, mixture or article, which is enclosed within it.• Packaging must be considered as a separate Article

under EU REACH.


References

1. 'European CHemical Agency [ECHA] - Guidance on requirements in articles', Version 4.0, July 2016.

Contact Me

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

what am i, a substance, a mixture or an article?

Education