CAS 107-21-1 · REACH · European Union

Monoethylene glycol under REACH

C2H6O2 · 乙二醇

Status: Registered. Monoethylene glycol is fully registered under REACH at the highest tonnage band (>1,000,000 tonnes/year). The substance was placed on the Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) in 2014 with the Czech Republic as evaluating Member State; the substance evaluation concluded in 2017 with no further regulatory action required at the time. Annex XVII Restriction 60 governs retail packaging of antifreeze, coolant, and windscreen-wash mixtures containing more than 3% MEG by weight.

MEG is a comfortably-registered foundational petrochemical with kidney-toxicity occupational-health profile but no precursor scheduling, no CBAM Phase 1 inclusion, and no active EU AD case. The operator-relevant complexity is downstream: Annex XVII Restriction 60 retail-packaging rules (bittering agent, child-resistant closure) apply at the antifreeze / coolant / screenwash formulator step, not at the bulk MEG sale step. The carbon-intensity divergence between Chinese gas-route MEG (Shenghong, Hengli) and coal-route MEG (Yulin, Tongliao, Xinjiang Tianye) is the structural intelligence layer for EU buyers with Scope 3 emissions reporting requirements; buyer-side preference for gas-route can shift trade flows materially over the medium term.

Listing and threshold

Substance Monoethylene glycol (CAS 107-21-1), C2H6O2
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: Acute Tox. 4 oral (H302, "harmful if swallowed") and STOT RE 2 (H373, "may cause damage to kidneys through prolonged or repeated exposure if swallowed")
  • Signal word: WARNING
  • GHS pictograms: GHS07 (exclamation mark), GHS08 (health hazard)
  • NOT classified as carcinogen, mutagen, or reproductive toxicant
  • NOT classified as hazardous to the aquatic environment
  • IARC: ethylene glycol has not been the subject of a published IARC Monograph evaluation (verify against https://monographs.iarc.who.int/list-of-classifications); any earlier "Group 3" attribution is unverifiable. Apply ACGIH and NIOSH occupational-health guidance instead

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
  • EU Annex XVII Restriction 60 (covers MEG mixtures placed on retail market, scope and concentration limits for Denatonium benzoate bittering agent + child-resistant fastenings + tactile warning of danger; verify exact concentration thresholds, effective date, and current text against https://reachonline.eu/reach/en/annex-xvii.html and https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ before relying on the specific 3% by weight or 30 mg/kg figures cited in earlier dataset drafts)
  • Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): MEG 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))

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). MEG is high-volume so the registration cost is amortised across many importers; pre-registration is unavailable for new entrants and a full registration dossier (Annex VII to X data depending on tonnage) must be submitted via REACH-IT. Annex XVII Restriction 60 retail packaging rules apply only to the FORMULATED MIXTURE (antifreeze / coolant / screenwash); pure MEG sold as a bulk industrial substance to formulators is NOT subject to R60 retail packaging requirements but the formulator downstream IS.

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)
  • Annex XVII Restriction 60 compliance evidence for retail-packaged mixtures (Denatonium benzoate concentration, child-resistant closure, tactile warning)
  • Customs entry with HS code 29053100 (ethylene glycol)
  • CLP-compliant labelling (H302, H373) on outer packaging

Common compliance traps

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

  • Annex XVII Restriction 60 applies to MIXTURES (antifreeze, coolant, screenwash) at the retail-packaging stage; pure MEG sold to industrial formulators is not subject to R60 but the downstream formulator IS, so the trade flow has a hand-off compliance moment
  • Some Member States (Germany, France) have additional national workplace-exposure rules; verify before invoicing
  • STOT RE 2 (kidney) classification is the dominant occupational-health concern; MSDS handling guidance must reflect prolonged-exposure kidney risk
  • NOT in CBAM Phase 1 scope so no carbon-border-adjustment certificate is required for now; verify if CBAM Phase 2 (post-2026 review) extends scope to organic chemicals
  • No active EU AD/CVD case on Chinese-origin MEG currently; the US 2023-2024 case (Saudi / Trinidad / Kuwait) was a US-only proceeding and did not extend to the EU
  • Coal-route Chinese MEG (CTMEG, ~30% of Chinese capacity) carries 3-4x higher embedded CO2 per tonne vs gas-route alternatives; downstream EU buyers with Scope 3 emissions targets may prefer gas-route Chinese MEG (Shenghong, Hengli, Sinopec) over CTMEG (Yulin, Tongliao GEM, Xinjiang Tianye)

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for monoethylene glycol, see the CAS 107-21-1 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the monoethylene glycol 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.

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Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

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