Implications of the new EU legislation on chemicals for Poisons Centres

In the last 5 years, the legislation on chemicals was rigorously updated in the European Union (EU). The CLP (Classifi cation, Labelling and Packaging of substances and mixtures) Regulation 1 and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation 2 completely renew the rules on (risk) management of substances and mixtures. They will gradually replace a large variety of directives on chemicals, including the Dangerous Substances Directive, Dangerous Preparations Directive and Safety Data Sheet Directive. Furthermore, the new Cosmetic Products Regulation 3 , Plant Protection Products Regulation 4 and forthcoming Biocidal Products Regulation 5 replace the former directives on these product groups. See for more details and specifi c legislation numbers Table 1. As these new EU legislations are ‘ regulations ’ , they directly apply in the same way to every EU Member State after coming into force. Regulations do not allow Member States the freedom to interpret the ruling in different ways. The former ‘ directives ’ allowed EU Member States to adapt and/or complement the EU legislation with specifi c national requirements into National legislation. For Poisons Centres (PCs), the changes in legislation on chemicals predominantly affect the notifi cation of product information by companies. The European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT), recognised as an important stakeholder, is actively involved in the discussions on the implementation of these legislative developments. The EAPCCT participates in projects of the European Commission (EC) on the notifi cation of hazardous mixtures and of cosmetic products. This article describes the implications of the new EU legislation on chemicals for Poisons Centres. CLP Regulation