ChemRegs Newsletter – June 2019

ECHA to check the classification of mixtures

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement (the Forum) has decided to organise a pilot project to check the classification of mixtures under the CLP Regulation. The pilot project will mainly focus on detergents and cleaning products, but other types of mixtures may also be covered in the scope.

The Forum is a network of authorities responsible for the enforcement of the REACH, CLP and PIC regulations in the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It is composed of one representative from each Member State.

The Forum will propose a timing for the CLP pilot project on classification of mixtures at the next Forum meeting in November.

In our June 2018 Newsletter we reported on the results of the Forum project that checked online adverts for hazardous chemical mixtures across the EU. Out of a total of 1 314 internet advertisements checked, over 80 % were found to be non-compliant with the requirements of CLP.

ECHA is also going to hold a meeting on 4 July 2019 with stakeholders to explore whether they can take actions to improve safety data sheets (SDS).

This is because a recent report analysing 197 SDS identified a number of common deficiencies in key sections of the SDSs. The report presents the results of assessments of SDS made by participating Member States under the Forum action on ‘improvement of the quality of safety data sheets’.

The main issues noted relate to:

• no reporting on uses advised against, unclear identified uses and the absence of the required emergency telephone number in Section 1 of the SDS;
• incorrect classification in SDS Section 2 and in correlation with this issue, incorrect reporting of concentration ranges of ingredients in mixtures in Section 3;
• not providing national occupational exposure limits and an inadequacy of the information provided on control measures, including engineering controls and specific details on personal protective equipment (PPE) in Section 8;
• lack of information on the physical/chemical, toxicological and eco-toxicological properties in Sections 9, 11 and 12, with no explanation as to the reason for the absence of the information as required to be stated.

Where information is not provided at all or where there are inadequacies in the information in the SDS, there are consequences for users and actors down the supply chain. For example, the report found that classification of mixtures appeared to have been incorrectly assigned in Section 2 as it was often inconsistent with the concentration ranges in Section 3, or that the harmonised classification of ingredient substances was not provided in Section 3.2, or that pH was not taken account of. Incorrect classification results in inaccurate labelling and potentially the provision of inaccurate information on safe handling and risk management measures.

To address the issues noted, the report has set out recommendations for improving the quality of each section and how these deficiencies could be addressed.

Overall, the recommendations advocate better consistency checks by compilers across all sections of the SDS, advise those responsible for SDSs to put pressure on software providers to ensure that the templates are compliant with Annex II requirements, provision of specific and more detailed guidance on issues which have shown the highest rates of problems and in some areas the need to consider closer cooperation with authorities responsible for enforcing occupational safety and health (OSH) regulations.

The Forum working group will discuss the recommendations for stakeholders at the July meeting. The aim will be to explore if there are any solutions which stakeholder organisations can implement to improve SDS quality, with a view to presenting them at the Forum open session in November 2019.