Regional meeting hears call to contribute to EU consultation

Posted by Charlotte Salter, on April 15, 2016.

The chance to contribute to a major EU consultation on chemical regulation was one of the key messages to come out of the UKCPI’s regional meeting this week.

The meeting at Kilworth House Hotel in Leicestershire heard from Francis McGuigan of the International Chemicals Unit of the Health and Safety Executive. Also presenting were Simon Burt from Jeyes and Hugh Roberts from Lisam Systems.

Francis McGuigan – HSE

Mr McGuigan’s key message was to encourage members to get involved in the current REFIT consultation.

REFIT is the EU’s ongoing programme of ‘fitness checks’ to ensure regulations are performing well, and it is currently consulting on chemicals regulation. This does not include Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) but does include Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) regulations.

Mr McGuigan said the HSE was keen to encourage input from as many industry representatives as possible, saying such contributions had shaped existing legislation.

The REFIT consultation closes on May 27, and anyone can make a submission by visiting the consultation page. UKCPI encourages members to contribute to this process, which has a track record of influencing and improving regulation.He also explained the EU’s plans to continue to align CLP with the UN’s globally harmonised system of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS) and incorporate harmonised classifications.

Anyone wanting advice from HSE on issues relating to REACH or other chemicals regulation can use the dedicated HSE helpdesk.

Simon Burt – Jeyes

Mr Burt provided a useful industry perspective on CLP implementation. He described the processes involved in moving from the existing system to the new regulations, including the numerous challenges encountered along the way.

His presentation prompted input from several members about how the transition had required considerable staff time, thereby slowing or halting development in other areas of the business. There were also concerns about how the new categorisation system was not yet understood fully by factory staff, couriers and members of the public.

Hugh Roberts – Lisam Systems

Mr Roberts gave a thorough overview of the current situation with safety data sheets, particularly how much they had expanded in scope and detail since their inception. He reminded members that all safety data sheets had to comply with EU regulation 2015/830 from June 1, 2017.

He also outlined the value of the Industry Safe Use of Mixtures Information (SUMI) templates that were developed from sector-Specific Worker Exposure Descriptions (SWEDs) by the Downstream Users of Chemical Co-ordinating group (DUCC).

Contact the UKCPI on ukcpi@ukcpi.org or call 07843 199397.