European Union Plans to Delay First Poison Centre Notification Deadline to 1 January 2021
On 19 July 2019, the European Union (EU) submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) a notice of amendments to Annex VIII of the Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation) that delays the first notification deadline for mixtures placed on the market for consumer use to 1 January 2021.
The draft Regulation delays the implementation of Poison Centre Notification requirements for mixtures placed on the EU market for consumer use from 1 January 2020 to 1 January 2021. Additional amendments to Annex VIII include, “uncontentious clarifications of the text, so as to streamline interpretation, improve internal coherence, and mitigate some unintended consequences made apparent only after the adoption of the Annex.”
The amendment is still at the consultation stage. The proposed adoption is in the 4th quarter of 2019. The final date to comment on the amendment is September 17th, 2019.
ECHA releases updated Guidance on harmonized information relating to emergency health response
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published version 2.0 of the guidance on Poison Centre Notification requirements according to Annex VIII of CLP Regulation. The revised document is now available on the Guidance on CLP section of the ECHA website.
The new guidance document provides additional explanation on the obligations of duty holders with respect to Annex VIII of CLP Regulation. ECHA clarifies that every operator placing certain mixtures on the market could potentially be considered a “duty holder.” In this updated document, distributors are designated as duty holders if distributing in Member States other than the ones included in the original submission.
Although ECHA is intending to move back the notification deadline by one year, the amendment is not yet set in stone. If you have obligations to notify your hazardous mixtures under Annex VIII, we recommend making your submissions as soon as you can. This way, you can rest assured that emergency responders have the information needed to provide assistance during potential exposure incidents involving your products.
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