CAS 100-21-0 · REACH · European Union

Purified terephthalic acid under REACH

C8H6O4 · 精对苯二甲酸

Status: Registered. Purified terephthalic acid is fully registered under REACH at the highest tonnage band (>1,000,000 tonnes/year) as a foundational PET-chain monomer. The substance carries a light occupational hazard profile (Eye Irrit. 2 plus STOT SE 3 respiratory irritation) and is NOT subject to authorisation, SVHC, or precursor scheduling. PTA is NOT in CBAM Phase 1 scope (cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, hydrogen, electricity (Phase 1 scope verified at https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en, definitive period from 1 January 2026)).

PTA is a comfortably-registered foundational PET-chain monomer with light hazard profile and no precursor scheduling. The EU regulatory environment is operationally clean: no Annex XIV, no Annex XVII restriction, no CBAM Phase 1 inclusion, no active AD/CVD case on Chinese-origin PTA. The structural commercial story is the EU rPET-content target (30% recycled content in beverage bottles by 2030 per Single-Use Plastics Directive 2019/904), which shifts virgin-PTA demand toward gradual decline as recycled-PET-flake supply scales. EU PET-resin AD cases against Chinese resin (since 2004) are downstream-of-PTA and do NOT impose duty on PTA monomer trade flows. Major Chinese producers (Hengli Petrochemical, Yisheng Petrochemical, Tongkun, Wankai New Materials, Zhejiang Petrochemical) routinely meet EU food-contact migration-limit spec.

Listing and threshold

Substance Purified terephthalic acid (CAS 100-21-0), C8H6O4
Regime EU Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
Jurisdiction European Union (EU-27 plus EEA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway)
Status Registered
Tonnage threshold Registration required for any importer or manufacturer placing >1 t/year on the EU market

Classifications under this regime

  • Harmonised CLP classification (joint registration consensus): Eye Irrit. 2 (H319, "causes serious eye irritation") and STOT SE 3 (H335, "may cause respiratory irritation")
  • Signal word: WARNING
  • GHS pictograms: GHS07 (exclamation mark)
  • NOT classified as carcinogen, mutagen, or reproductive toxicant
  • NOT classified as hazardous to the aquatic environment
  • IARC: NOT evaluated
  • PTA particles are nuisance dust at workplace; respiratory protection required for handling

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • NOT on REACH Annex XIV (Authorisation list)
  • NOT classified as SVHC
  • NOT scheduled under EU Drug Precursors Regulation
  • NOT scheduled under EU Explosives Precursors Regulation
  • NOT subject to any Annex XVII restriction
  • Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): PTA is NOT in CBAM Phase 1 scope
  • EU PET-resin recycling targets (EU Single-Use Plastics Directive 2019/904, 30% rPET by weight in beverage bottles by 2030) are downstream-PET-resin obligations, not PTA-monomer obligations, but materially affect virgin-PTA demand pull

Importer obligations

A non-EU producer cannot register directly under REACH. The EU importer of record must hold a registration or rely on an Only Representative (OR). PTA is high-volume so the registration cost is amortised across many importers; new entrants must submit a full registration dossier (Annex VII to X data depending on tonnage) via REACH-IT. Workplace handling SDS must reflect Eye Irrit. 2 + STOT SE 3 classification with respiratory protection guidance for dust handling.

Required documents

  • REACH registration number on the EU side (registrant or OR-appointed)
  • Safety Data Sheet (SDS) compliant with REACH Annex II in destination Member State language(s)
  • CLP-compliant labelling (H319, H335) on outer packaging
  • Customs entry with HS code 29173600 (terephthalic acid and its salts)
  • PET-resin downstream supplier confirmation where buyer requires food-contact compliance (PTA is virgin-grade input to food-contact PET resin per EU Regulation 10/2011 Plastics Implementing Regulation)

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

  • Eye Irrit. 2 + STOT SE 3 hazards drive workplace dust-control engineering; bag-handling and pneumatic-conveyance loading points are the focal handling-control areas
  • NO active EU AD/CVD case on Chinese-origin PTA currently. EU PET-resin AD cases (against Chinese PET resin since 2004, ongoing) are downstream-of-PTA, not PTA itself; do not conflate the two
  • EU food-contact PET resin must comply with Regulation 10/2011 (Plastics Implementing Regulation) which sets specific migration limits for PTA monomer residue (SML 7.5 mg/kg food); virgin-grade PTA from major Chinese producers (Hengli, Yisheng, Tongkun, Wankai, Zhejiang Petrochemical) routinely meets this spec
  • NOT in CBAM Phase 1 scope but EU Single-Use Plastics Directive 30% rPET target (2030) shifts virgin-PTA demand pull; rPET-content claims are downstream-traced to specific recycling routes
  • EU domestic PTA capacity is limited (Indorama Ventures Europe, BP Geel, INVISTA Wilton); EU is structurally net-importer of PTA from China, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia
  • STOT SE 3 hazard means even short-term dust exposure causes respiratory irritation; downstream PET-resin polycondensation reactor handling requires engineered dust-control

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for purified terephthalic acid, see the CAS 100-21-0 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the purified terephthalic acid cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of REACH, see the REACH glossary entry.

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

Read next

Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

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