MIA member Ricardo UK - Great Britain furthers regulatory divergence from the EU

MIA Member, Ricardo UK has shared the following news article.

Great Britain furthers regulatory divergence from the EU

EU Annex VIII to the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of Substances and Mixtures Regulation (EC No 1272/2008) had previously been retained in GB CLP in error. However, on the 19th December 2023 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published an update revoking Annex VIII of GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures Regulation from domestic law, with affect from 31st December 2023.

Since this was announced Ricardo’s team of chemical experts has maintained close contact with the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS), the UK's appointed receiving body for poison centre notifications, and they have confirmed notifications can continue to be sent on a voluntary basis in the harmonized format or send a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) directly to the NPIS.

How does this impact organisations placing mixtures on the market in UK?

• It is not mandatory to complete a Poison Centre Notification when placing on the market in Great Britain, however you can do so on a voluntary basis.
•  It is mandatory to complete a Poison Centre Notification if you are placing on the market in Northern Ireland.

This news is just a further example of how GB CLP is diverging from the EU. Despite the UK carrying over some aspects of EU law into their own, moving forward the divergence between them has only increased over time. One of the main areas of divergence concerning chemical safety and SDS are due to the 'Adaption to Technical Progress’, or ATPs.

ATPs are a European mechanism for updating the mandatory minimum classification and labelling of hazardous substances, issued yearly. Since the UK’s departure from the European Union and the end of the associated transition period there have been 5 ATP updates in the EU which Great Britain has not adopted.

This divergence is causing differences in mandatory classifications for many hazardous substances as well as the mixtures and formulations they are contained in – meaning your product may have a different classification in Great Britain than it does in the EU.

To find more information click here.