Source: SPECIALIST PRINTING WORLDWIDE : ISSUE 4: 2012
Elaine Campling explains the regulatory revisions for biocidal products
The Biocidal Products Regulation, (EU) 528/2012 was officially adopted on 22 May 2012, repealing the Biocidal Products Directive (BPD), 98/8/EC and will apply to Industry from 1 September 2013, though some transitional arrangements have been put in place. Biocidal products are considered necessary to control organisms that are harmful to human or animal health and to prevent damage to natural or manufactured materials.
However, biocidal products can also present risks to humans, animals and the environment due to their intrinsic properties and the way in which they are used, which is why regulation is considered necessary.
According to the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR), a biocidal product is:
“… any substance or mixture, in the form in which it is supplied to the user, consisting of, containing or generating one or more active substances, with the intention of destroying, deterring, rendering harmless, preventing the action of, or otherwise exerting a controlling effect on, any harmful organism by any means other than mere physical or mechanical action …”