Poison centres: “Timescales are tight, not all of the tools are available, and there are a number of workability issues”
The upcoming new poison information centres notifications remain among the most pressing regulatory matters for the paints and coatings industry. We spoke to poison centre expert Caroline Raine, NCEC, about deadlines and challenges.
Could you give a little introduction into the new regulations on the harmonised notification of chemical mixtures to the national poison centres?
Caroline Raine: The commission regulation (EU) 2017/542 of 22nd March 2017 amending Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures by adding Annex VIII on harmonised information relating to emergency health response introduces a requirement for all those placing hazardous mixtures on the market to make a notification to the relevant Member State.
Mixtures that are classified for health or physical effects must be notified via the European Chemicals Agency using the new harmonised format by the relevant deadline for the use of that mixture:
1 January 2020 – consumer use (see below for imminent update)
1 January 2021 – professional use
1 January 2024 – industrial use
1 January 2025 for those that have previously made a notification to the relevant Member State
What will the new notification entail for companies?
Caroline Raine
Associate Director – Regulatory, NCEC
Raine: Companies will have to provide all of the information outlined within Annex VIII. Annex VIII introduces the new concept of the UFI – a 16-digit code that must also be printed on the mixture label. Full composition must be provided to the poison centre, along with detailed information on any mixtures in mixtures.
What are the main challenges?
Raine: There are lots of challenges – the timescales are tight, not all of the tools are available, and there are a number of workability issues that need to be rectified.
There has been the suggestion to postpone the deadline. What is the current status?
Raine: At CARACAL last week, the draft amendment for Annex VIII was agreed. So, the first deadline of 1 January 2020 for consumer mixtures will now be the 1 January 2021 – so both consumer and professional uses will have the same deadline. The legislation sealing the deal will be published in Q4 of the year.
To find out more about poison centre notifications visit www.the-ncec.com/ecl. Caroline Raine will present on the topic in a free special broadcast of the free webinar European Coatings Live on 24 October 2019 and will be available for questions. Caroline Raine will also speak at the European Coatings Regulatory Forum on 27 and 28 November in Brussels.
