ECHA to Delay Launch of CLP Classification Inventory

This just in from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki:

"ECHA has decided to delay the launching of the Classification and Labelling Inventory in order to ensure that the information provided by industry will be made publicly available in an accurate way that allows easy and functional access and navigation. The Agency will announce the new launch date by mid January. This is a key milestone project for ECHA because the public will have, for the first time, access to information on the self-classification of chemical substances by Industry."

EPA Heralds 2500 "Safer Products" Under Design for the Environment Program

Last week, "as part of the Earth Day 2011 tribute," the USEPA announced that "more than 2,500 products are now authorized by the agency under its Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labeling Program."  These products now can display the DfE label, which signifies that they "do not contain known chemicals of potential concern, like carcinogens, reproductive or developmental toxicants."  And coming shortly, says EPA, will be a requirement for "manufacturers with products that bear the DfE logo to disclose their ingredients to consumers."

According to Assistant Administrator Steve Owens in the press release:

“EPA’s DfE Program helps empower people to choose products that are safer for their families and our planet. The DfE program provides important information about the safety of certain products that contain chemicals and gives consumers confidence that DfE products meet rigorous requirements.”

As part of the DfE program, EPA "conducts a scientific evaluation to ensure that candidate products are formulated from the safest possible ingredients," then works with manufacturers to find safer alternatives. The DfE label "means that EPA has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects and that the product contains only ingredients that, in EPA’s scientific opinion, pose the least concern among chemicals in their class."

More information on the DfE Safer Product Labeling Program and Standard for Safer Products can be found at: http://epa.gov/dfe.

ECHA Publishes New Guidance on Labelling and Packaging of Chemicals

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) last Friday issued yet another new guidance document related to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) regulations.  The newest guidance document "gives more details on labelling and packaging than the earlier Guidance on the Application of the CLP Criteria."

In particular, the guidance clarifies:

• what aspects to consider when estimating the label size needed;
• what types of supplemental information are possible, and where to place this information on the label;
• the conditions for small packaging exemptions;
• the interaction between CLP and the transport labelling rules;
• how to select the most appropriate set of precautionary statements for the label;
• the transitional provisions for substances and mixtures already on the market.

According to ECHA, "the new stand-alone guidance document replaces the sections dealing with labelling and selection of precautionary statements of the existing Guidance on the Application of the CLP Criteria."

The Guidance on Labelling and Packaging can be downloaded as a PDF document here.

More Than 1/2 Million Chemical Classification Notifications Received by ECHA

Along with REACH registrations, companies in Europe must notify all their chemicals under the new "European Regulation on Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemical substances and mixtures" (CLP). The CLP is how the United Nations’ Globally Harmonised System (UN GHS) for classifying and labelling chemicals is being implemented in Europe.  Companies must notify by January 3, 2011, and as of now more than 500,000 notifications have been received by ECHA.

Companies who must register their substances by the fast approaching November 30, 2010  REACH registration deadline will also include CLP classifications, and this meets the obligation to notify.  However, those companies who make substances at lower tonnages and have 2013 or 2018 REACH registration deadlines must still notify under the CLP by January 3, 2011.  In short, "if you are a manufacturer or importer, you must notify hazardous substances that you place on the market on their own or contained in hazardous mixtures above certain applicable concentration limits, regardless of the annual tonnage manufactured or imported, as well as substances subject to registration under REACH and that you place on the market, to the Classification & Labelling Inventory established at the Agency."

More information on the CLP and the upcoming deadlines can be found on the ECHA web site.