ECHA has received over 1000 notifications (nearly from 1026 sites across the EU) by May 2021 from EU industries and they have confirmed that they are using chromium trioxide in functional or hard chrome plating and surface treatment. ECHA also authorizes to use of this chemical until September 2024.

Through this notification, companies confirm that they follow the conditions for use set in the authorization decisions granted to their suppliers. Meanwhile, they must report to ECHA about how their workers are exposed to chromium trioxide by the end of 2021 since this is an important step to further reduce the exposure of workers to chromium trioxide across Europe. This will help European authorities carry out joint enforcement on functional chrome plating and surface treatment.

REACH allows companies to apply for authorization to continue or start using and placing chemicals included in the Authorisation List on the EU market for a limited time. The companies who are manufacturing the chemicals included in the authorization list and their customers should notify their use to ECHA within three months of the first delivery of the chemical taking place after the authorization decision. Already the EU Commission has granted authorizations for five uses of chromium trioxide including functional chrome plating and surface treatment in December 2020. Authorization holders can re-apply by submitting a review report to ECHA by March 2023 since the current authorizations expire in September 2024 as stated above.

Chromium trioxide is used to add a protective coating to metal parts and their products to enhance the strength of the surface as well as wear and corrosion resistance. It is very harmful to the workers through the treated surface does not contain chromium trioxide as the Chrome plating and surface treatment are done in industrial settings. So, the European Parliament took legal action against the Commission in March 2021 to withdraw the decision by saying it is in breach of EU regulation. The legal process is ongoing

Reference:https://echa.europa.eu/-/chromium-trioxide-widely-used-in-plating-and-surface-treatment