Source: SPECIALIST PRINTING WORLDWIDE : ISSUE 1: 2012
Elaine Campling looks at the reasoning behind the forthcoming EC review
Organisations producing and importing chemical products await the outcome of the European Commission (EC) review to assess the possibility of harmonising the information to be submitted to poison centres, including the format in which the information should be submitted. The submission of information on hazardous products is the responsibility of downstream users and importers placing mixtures on the market under the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, which aligns European legislation to the UN Globally Harmonised System (GHS).
The EC is required to undertake the review by 20 January 2012 in accordance with Article 45(4) of the CLP Regulation and recently held the 2nd stakeholder meeting in November of this year. The Commission held expert group meetings during 2010 involving representatives from member state (MS) poison centres (PC), during which specific proposals were agreed for discussion at the 1st Stakeholder workshop, which was held in November 2010 and involved representatives from interested parties, including the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT), national poison centres, industry, and industry associations.