Member States Discuss Poison Centre Notifications for 'Original' Mixtures

Some mixtures supplied to industrial sites for further formulation could be subject to less stringent requirements under the new poison centre rules.

Member state competent authorities (CAs) discussed the issue of how such 'original' mixtures should be handled at the Caracal meeting on 28-29 June

CAs and industry disagree on whether such mixtures should be categorised as for 'industrial' use or as 'consumer or professional' use.

Business groups say original mixtures should be considered as industrial, such mixtures do not need full notifications and benefit from derogations, and have an extra four years to comply with the new rules.

Four trade bodies, including the International Fragrance Association (Ifra), argue that requesting full data submission for original mixtures would create an unnecessary administrative burden for industry and poison centres.

This, Ifra told the Caracal meeting in April, would be "totally disproportionate and irrelevant" and discriminate against EU formulators. Poison centres, it said, only need information about the composition of the final mixture to be able to handle accidents and exposure.

But some member states worry that information vital for emergency response could be lost if original mixtures are put in the industrial category.

The Commission decided that original mixtures will generally remain in the consumer or professional use category.

But it will consider derogations for certain mixtures where data sheet information is enough to ensure they are safe. This, it says, could affect, for example, original mixtures that become highly diluted in the final product, or those which end up in final mixtures that are not subject to notification obligations under CLP Annex VIII.

"The aim is that poison centres ... have at their disposal, for hazardous final mixtures for consumer or professional use, the same level of detailed information, whether the different components of the mixture were gradually added throughout the supply chain or whether they were added by the final formulator."

The issue will be included in a planned study on workability issues of Annex VIII. Pending the results, the Commission will decide whether to amend the annex with less stringent rules for some original mixtures.