ECHA has just published a guidance document for companies submitting online notifications to poison centres.
The guide, entitled: How to Prepare and Submit Information to Poison Centres, is available in English as a free download via the EU’s online bookshop.
Background information
Poison centres play an important role in ensuring the safe use of chemicals and formulating preventive and curative measures for poisoning incidents. They provide medical advice to general consumers and physicians on health emergencies arising from exposure to hazardous chemicals or to other toxic agents. On average, poison centres in the EU answer 600 000 calls for support each year. Roughly half of the cases are related to accidental exposures involving children. Under Article 45 of the CLP Regulation, economic operators placing certain hazardous mixtures on the market have to provide information to national appointed bodies. This information is used by poison centres.
The new requirements will apply in 2020 for mixtures for consumer use, followed by mixtures for professional and industrial use in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
Next steps
You should start poison centre notifications now.
Importers and downstream users placing hazardous mixtures on the market, that have a health or physical effect classification, should start preparing for the implementation of the new submission procedure and for the use of the UFI on product labels.
Although in most Member States notification is mandatory now; from 2020 onwards, it will be mandatory to notify these mixtures under the harmonised information rules agreed upon in Annex VIII, or you will risk enforcement action.
Make sure to find out about your new obligations and how these could affect your business.
Hibiscus Plc is ready to support you with the authoring of Safety Data Sheets and production of product labels to allow a smooth transition into compliance for 2020 onwards.