ChemRegs Newsletter – August 2021
UKCA Mark Deadline Extended
Businesses have been given more time to apply the new product safety marking – the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking. This applies to all goods where businesses were due to begin using the UKCA marking by the end of this year (2021).
The UKCA marking allows the UK to have control over its goods regulations and replaces the product safety labelling the UK previously used while a member of the EU, such as the CE mark. The new marking covers most goods which previously required the CE marking, known as ‘new approach’ goods, in addition to aerosol products that previously required the ‘reverse epsilon’ marking.
Businesses have been able to use the UKCA mark since 1 January 2021 to demonstrate their conformity with product standards in England, Scotland and Wales. However, on 24 August, the UK government announced plans to introduce legislation which will enable CE marked goods to continue being placed on the GB market until 1 January 2023.
This extension is a result of the continuing impact that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having on businesses, which has made adapting to the new regime more challenging. As a result, the government has decided to provide an additional year for businesses to adapt to the new UKCA requirements.
This means that all goods which previously required the CE marking will not need to use the UKCA marking until 1 January 2023. The exception is medical devices, where businesses will not need to use the UKCA marking until 1 July 2023.
Under the terms of the Protocol, Northern Ireland will continue to recognise the CE marking for goods placed on the market in Northern Ireland. They will need to use the UKNI marking if they use a UK Conformity Assessment Body to test their products.
The government has published the UK Market Conformity Assessment Bodies database which businesses can use to identify the appropriate body to certify their products.
Businesses can find out what labelling requirements apply to their products in the Product safety for businesses: A to Z of industry guidance, which is published by the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
This is the final deadline and there will be no further extension.
Other News
Consultation on harmonised classification and labelling
ECHA is inviting industry to submit comments on the harmonised classification and labelling proposals for certain chemicals including:
7-oxabicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-ylmethyl 7-oxabicyclo[4.1.0]heptane-3-carboxylate (EC 219-207-4, CAS 2386-87-0)
Formic acid …% (EC 200-579-1, CAS 64-18-6)
Formaldehyde …% (EC 200-001-8, CAS 50-00-0)
Peracetic acid …% (EC 201-186-8, CAS 79-21-0)
Sulfur (EC 231-722-6, CAS 7704-34-9)
Parties concerned are invited to comment on the hazard classes open for consultation, which are indicated in the substance table here.
The indicated hazard classes were assessed and concluded by the dossier submitter in their proposal for harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) of the substance.
A hazard class may be open for commenting even if the dossier submitter did not conclude that it warrants a classification.
The CLH consultation lasts for 60 days (unless specified otherwise).
Call for evidence on cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds launched
ECHA has launched a call for evidence on cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds (EC 231-158-0, CAS 7440-48-4).
The aim is to gather new scientific information on uses, exposure, health effects, toxicology, epidemiology and modes of action of this substance. Any other relevant information is also welcome.
This is because ECHA has been tasked by the European Commission to evaluate exposure to cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds to assess the option of an airborne occupational exposure limit (OEL), other limit values (BLV/BGV), and notations.
Cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds are a list of substances that range from 1A to 1B (carcinogenicity class) according to the Annex VI to Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation ((EC) No 1272/2008 – the CLP Regulation).
Calls for evidence allow parties to signal their interest and express their views and concerns in the early phases of developing a scientific report on occupational exposure limits on a substance or chemical agent at the workplace.
A call for evidence is additional to and does not take the place of the consultation on the OEL scientific report in support of occupational exposure limits at the workplace.
The deadline is 19 November 2021.
ECHA to start safety data sheet compliance checks with Annex II of REACH in 2023
ECHA has announced an EU-wide enforcement project (REF-11) that will launch in 2023 to look at the quality of information contained in safety data sheets (SDS).
Safety data sheets are the main vehicles for communicating safety information in the supply chain. If they are deficient, workers and professionals may not receive adequate information to use hazardous substances and mixtures safely.
The poor quality of information in SDSs is a long-standing issue detected in many earlier enforcement projects – up to 52 % of SDS were found to be deficient in the Forum’s REF-2 project in 2013. Experience from enforcement activities in Member States confirms that the issue persists.
The project will check compliance with the new revised requirements under Annex II to REACH, which sets the content and format required for SDS. REACH Annex II Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/878 came into force on 1 January 2021 in the EU, with a transition date to allow existing SDS to conform by 31 December 2022.
All businesses manufacturing or placing products on the EU market must comply with new Annex II requirements. Therefore, all EU SDS authored after 1 January 2021 must comply with the new amendments. Any SDS that were written according to the old Annex II requirements will have to be rewritten to comply with the updated requirements by 31 December 2022.
The Forum will prepare the project in 2022, run inspections in 2023 and report in 2024.
For more information on anything in this Newsletter, please contact us at info@chemregs.co.uk