BARS, BILLETS, BLOOMS AND OTHER STAINLESS STEEL SEMIFINISHED

2.1 Classification of the substance or mixture

This material safety data sheet provides information that are relevant for downstream users in order to allow correct use of the supplied stainless steel items. It is noted that our semi-finished stainless steel products, according to:  the documents for the interpretation of the rules, developed by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), which are accessible for consultation;  the position of the most important national and European Associations of the industry; can be considered “articles“ pursuant to REACH regulations. It is also noted that: • the substances contained in our articles are not intentionally released under normal and reasonable conditions of use; • based on the current level of knowledge, the substances contained in the steels we have processed do not have the characteristics set out in art. 57; therefore, no authorisation is required to date for the use of stainless steel constituents. In accordance with REACH regulation, Italfond S.p.A. specifies that its article do not contain any of the SVHC substances included in the Candidate List, updated by ECHA to 173 substances on January 12, 2017 ( http://www.echa.europa.eu/it/candidate-list-table ). It is also stated that Italfond S.p.A., in addition to being a producer of articles that do not intentionally release substances under normal and reasonable conditions of use, uses downstream substances contained in the stainless steels that do not intentionally release any substances under normal and reasonable conditions of use. In accordance with the above, our customers do not have to comply with other requirements concerning stainless steel semi-finished products under REACH regulation. In fact, the obligation to disclose information on substances contained in the articles according to Art. 33 does not apply to the semi- finished products concerned. Under normal environmental conditions stainless steels are stable and non-reactive. Dust and fumes are likely to be generated only during the smelting or welding operations and when steel is heated at very high temperatures. No component is released under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. Exposure of people or the environment is negligible under normal and reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. No carcinogenic effects were detected as a result of exposure to stainless steels, nor in epidemiological studies or in animal tests. Moreover, by way of example, IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) concluded that stainless steel prostheses are not classifiable as to their carcinogenicity to humans.