Chemicals Coffee Time Monthly, March 2023

Dear Friend,

Welcome to the compilation from the March 2023 edition of Chemicals Coffee Time (with a little bit from February and April as well).

We were already reeling from the impact of industry having to supply extra tariff document codes relating to EU-REACH Authorisation and Restriction status when the really big news came right at the end of the month, which is the publication of the updated Annexes to CLP to bring in the new hazard classifications.

New EU CLP hazard classes (partly) published

Breda Kosi very kindly spotted that the updated Annexes to CLP had been published on the morning of 31st March 2023, see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023R0707  .

As you are probably aware, the new hazard classes are:

• endocrine disruptors for health
• endocrine disruptors for environment
• PBT/vPvB (Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic/ very Persistent, very Bioaccumulative)
• PMT/vPvM (Persistent, Mobile, Toxic/ very Persistent, very Mobile)

The timing of the publication confused me somewhat, because the consultation on these new hazards had closed the previous day.

However, it turns out that the bit of CLP which had been updated was just the Annexes, under the Delegated Act, and the consultation is to update the Articles, which requires a Legislative Act.

So at the moment, the new hazard classes are not technically required, as the Articles have not been updated yet! No wonder I was confused.

It’s probably just as well that there is a long phase in period for the new hazard classes, as it will allow time for everything to be in legal effect.

New EU CLP hazard classes infographics

We have produced 4 infographics covering the new hazard classes which are available on open access (no email or log-in required) here: https://www.ghsclassificationcourses.com/proposed-new-clp-hazard-classes-from-the-eu-september-2022-published-march-2023/

As usual, please feel free to share this web page with anyone who may find it useful, and if you’d like to use the infographics in your own social media or other content, we’d be grateful if you could credit TT Environmental Ltd.

It did take a few days for us to realise that I’d inadvertently posted draft versions instead of the ones with the adjustments made in December 2022, so if you looked at them before 6th April the information may have contained some typos, and we recommend you download the corrected versions instead.

Many thanks to Peter Robins; an anonymous CHCS member; Sergii Lytvynenko of Juul Labs; and Steve Marks of Airedale Chemicals, who all pointed out the various typos.

I’m really grateful for this type of “negative feedback”, as you can’t proof what you write, and unless someone lets us know about mistakes, we can’t improve.

New hazard classifications effects on other parts of EU legislation

ECHA staff seem to be “in the know” about some of the “downstream” consequences of these new hazard classes.

Daniele Ape comments in ECHA’s PCN LinkedIn group: In any case the impact on PCN is limited and related format changes will come only in April 2024.

And Francois Le Goff comments in ECHA’s IUCLID LinkedIn group: These changes are planned to be reflected in the IUCLID release including format changes, next year, in the first half of 2024.

It will be interesting to see if there is a further update to the EU SDS format to include the new hazard classes, and when that is brought in.

New EU CLP hazard classes and GB

A recent CHCS newsletter had a link to a written parliamentary answer which took place on 7th February: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-02-02/138259

Briefly, although the UK is participating in the discussions around these new hazards “There are no plans to establish additional hazard classes in the GB CLP Regulation without consensus at the UN GHS.”

Many thanks to Gill Pagliuca, Chemical Hazards Communication Society – (CHCS) Chair and Denehurst Chemical Safety, and Kathryn Tearle, CHCS Council member and OHES Environmental Consultancy, for passing this information through.

Impacts on NI

As far as we can tell, these new hazard classes will apply in Northern Ireland, although it’s not clear yet whether/ when exports from mainland GB to NI will require them to be used.

As I seem to say quite often at the moment, “watch this space”

Which bits of CLP can be amended by Delegated Act?

Gill Pagliuca also writes:

Most amendments to CLP, including all the usual ATPs to update Annex VI, amendments to Annex VIII to make it more workable, etc., are made using the delegated acts procedure which is a streamlined process for technical updates that are supposedly uncontroversial. There are currently three other delegated acts at various stages in the process of being adopted at the moment, the 19th, 20th, and 21st ATPs. The powers to make a delegated act and the parts of CLP that are allowed to be amended using a delegated act, rather than the ordinary legislative process, are limited and are set out in Articles 37(5), 45(4), 53, 53a, 53b, 53c of CLP.

he ordinary legislative procedure is used when there are changes to the main regulatory text outside of the delegated powers, such as the current major overhaul which is prompted by the 5 yearly review of how well CLP is working, and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. These are expected to be infrequent as the process is much longer and more complex.

EC proposals on CLP – did you comment?

You can read the comments here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12975-Revision-of-EU-legislation-on-hazard-classification-labelling-and-packaging-of-chemicals_en

Our response, (as TT Environmental, not on behalf of the Chemical Regulations Self Help Group) was:

TT Environmental Ltd is a specialist safety and environmental consultant serving the EU and UK chemical industry. We train people in CLP labelling, and also run a self-help group for regulatory discussions, so we are aware of many difficulties with the labelling changes proposed in this revision of CLP. It is our view that the labelling proposals in this consultation are unworkable and potentially hazardous to the end user, as per the attached document. They should not be implemented.

Reasons include:

1.   The EU-wide survey which is being used to support the apparent need for an increase in font size is out of date for todays marketplace

2.   The proposal to increase font size does not address the underlying problems discovered by the survey being used to promote these label changes, even if these still exist

3.   The proposal to increase font size is not related to best practice on font sizes and distance for clear reading

4.   On containers with limited room, there may not be space for all of the required CLP information on the front page

5.   The proposals will create expensive practical problems for labellers and end users

6.   Digital labels are intrinsically unsuitable for hazard information which should be available to the end users when they use the product

7.   This is not a GHS requirement and should not be implemented unless brought into GHS itself

8.   In our opinion, it is unsafe to move hazard information off the label and onto pull-out or fold-out labels for industrial chemicals; and unsafe to move any hazard information from chemical labels onto a digital label

Document attached (6 pages): Response to EC labelling proposal March 2023.pdf 

At least the label format proposals we’ve commented on have not been introduced yet. They will need to go to the WTO under a notification, so we may get “early warning” of the EC’s intentions via that route.

New REACH codes required for Customs declarations on chemical tariff codes in the EU and UK

This is a real “Under the Radar” issue which started on 7th February and is only now starting to bite. Briefly, as part of the EU REACH enforcement programme, customs officials are now looking for some evidence of ‘REACH compliance’ for EU imports.

This new requirement has been brought in via an existing customs provision called “tariff document codes”, which have traditionally been used for things like seeds and agricultural products, but this is the first time they’ve been applied to chemicals.

In practical terms, this means that each Member State, and possibly the UK (definitely NI), have had to add an extra 4 digit data code for products with certain tariff codes for import (EU). This declarable code should be listed in Data Element 2/3 of the customs declaration.

It’s important to note that when these were introduced (only 1 month ago) there were just 3 possible codes. This has already been expanded to 7! We anticipate that there may still be amendments or additions as this new policy settles in.

Customs officials may ask for ‘evidence’ to support the Code that you have supplied. At the current time, there is no definition of suitable evidence, they may accept your SDS if you have consistent information listed in Section 15. But you may need to prepare a separate statement to get your product released from customs (if you have a particularly stubborn customs agent!)

The UK list can be downloaded from this webpage https://www.gov.uk/guidance/data-element-23-document-status-codes-of-the-customs-declaration-service-cds as an .ods file (open document spreadsheet) which can be converted to .xls and thence to the more stable .xlsx format.

We also produced a flow chart for newsletter readers in the 17th March edition of Chemicals Coffee Time.

You can access our email archive here, (email sign-up required) which also put you onto our weekly mailing list (unless you’re already on this, in which case, don’t worry,  you won’t get two copies):   https://www.ghsclassificationcourses.com/home/news…

Windsor Framework replaces the Northern Ireland Protocol

In other news, the replacement of the Protocol with the Framework, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-eu-to-formally-adopt-the-windsor-framework, should have been the biggest news in March, but in terms of chemical legislation it seems very much like “business as usual”.

People who are interested in the Northern Ireland and Brexit negotiations will be unsurprised to learn that further talks are required, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65058955 .

Update to Poisons and Explosives Precursors Regulations

My colleague Alison Potts writes: Many thanks to Patrick Keogh of Banner Chemicals who sent through Statutory Instrument 2023 No. 63, the ‘Control of Explosives Precursors and Poisons Regulations 2023’. This legislation comes into force on 1st October 2023 and will amend both the ‘Control of Poisons and Explosives Precursors Regulations 2015’, and the ‘Poisons Act 1972’.

Details of these changes are given in the 3rd February edition of Chemicals Coffee Time.

UK Consent to Discharge – a “must read” if you have one

David Brydon of BLACKWELL WATER CONSULTANCY LTD is my go-to consultant for all matters Trade Effluent. He’s helped several clients get over tricky Consent to Discharge problems, and has a vast experience in managing trade effluents.

His latest newsletter is a masterclass on complying with Consents to Discharge , very useful for anyone who has one or is thinking about applying for one: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/issue-5-compliance-david-brydon/

DSEAR recommendation

Tony Ennis, my go-to consultant for DSEAR, is going solo – he writes on LinkedIn: Just a brief note to say that I am not taking on any further work on behalf of Haztech Consultants and will be disengaging from Haztech on completion of outstanding works. In the meantime I will be operating as an independent consultant principally dealing with DSEAR, COMAH and HAZOP facilitation. 

You can contact him here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-ennis-4ab66218/ 

ChemUK 2023

I’m delighted to see how ChemUK 2023, which is on the 10th and 11th May 2023 at the NEC, is busier than ever, it’s a real sign that we’re genuinely over Lockdown.

Alison and I will be attending both days and we’re looking forward to meeting many friends and colleagues there. If you’re coming to ChemUK and would like to catch up with us, drop me an email so we can arrange a time to meet up

Mick Goodwin of WSP and I will be giving two related presentations on divergence on day 2, 11th May on Stage 4, starting at 10:20 am.

Mick’s presentation is at 10:20 am, Stage 4: UK REACH: Where are we now and where are we going?

We will review the current state of play of UK REACH since Brexit, looking at the obligations of the different actors in the supply chain and the different transitional registration methods. We’ll look at how UK REACH has and will continue to diverge from EU REACH. Finally, we will look at some of the potential future issues regarding access to data as well as what DEFRA’s Alternative Transitional Registration Model may look like.

My presentation is 10:40 am, Stage 4: Brexit: Ongoing impacts on the label and SDS

Following on from WSP’s explanation of current divergence issues under REACH, we’ll look at CLP divergence briefly, and discuss how all these divergences affect the label and SDS.

We’ll cover practical questions like:

• Should we use a single SDS format for our products, and if so, should it be the EU format?
• When is it OK to use a single label for EU, GB and NI?
• Can we put EU-REACH registration information on the GB SDS?
• How do we deal with substances which hold an HCL which is different to an MCL?

There will be a brief Q&A session on both presentations as well.

Infographic of the month

A very colourful picture demonstrating that the earth isn’t as “round” as we think it is, although note that there is definitely exaggeration on the altitude axis)   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/digital-transformation-vdg_geoid-esa-nasa-activity-7034452008279400448-Wug_/ 

The Weekend Recipe

Are you too busy to be bothered with making hot cross buns with yeast for Easter? Panic not, I worked out a quicker yeast-free alternative last year, which was so successful that I’m giving you the recipe again. Of course, making your own also lets you tailor the recipe to your own preferences (if you don’t like peel or certain spices), or dietary requirements (e.g. gluten free or lactose free).

Ingredients

Buns

• 1 lb plain flour
• 4 oz sugar, I used soft brown but granulated sugar is fine
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• Optional spices – 1/2 teaspoon mace, pinch of cloves, pinch of cardamom
• 4 oz butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 8 oz (weighed) full fat plain Greek yoghurt (or buttermilk, if you have it, but use a little less as it may be runnier than the yoghurt, which is quite thick)
• 3 1/4 oz dried fruit
• 2 oz Mixed peel (or use dried fruit if you haven’t any)

Bun wash

• water
• granulated syrup
•  ground mixed spice

Method:

1.   Set your oven to Gas Mark 4

2.   Place all the dried ingredients except the fruit and mixed peel in a large bowl and stir to mix thoroughly (balloon whisk time!)

3.   Cut the butter into small lumps and rub into the flour, sugar and spice mixture

4.   When it’s a fine breadcrumb texture, tip in the greek yoghurt and beaten eggs and stir / knead to make a sticky but manageable dough – but don’t knead it too much

5.   Pour in the dried fruit and peel (if using) and knead so it’s reasonably even

6.   Cut into 8 pieces, and shape into hemispheres. Cut across with a knife to make your cross, (I would be wary of putting a dough cross on top of this type of hot cross bun, it might affect how it raises in the oven). Place on a baking tray, a long way apart (you may want to put 4 on 2 baking trays)

7.   Bake for around 25 minutes until done, when the base is light brown – I had to move them about a bit, and separate a few that ran into each other

8.   While in the oven, make a light syrup with water, granulated sugar and some ground mixed spice

9.   As soon as the buns come out of the oven, take them off the baking tray and coat with the syrup

10.           Leave to cool, and store in a tin. Obviously this is more of a large scone than a bread, but still excellent with butter and cheese (we do live in Yorkshire!)

Tips: You don’t want the dough to be too wet, so if it is, add some more flour to get the right texture. It is sticky though, so make sure you have your flour tin out of the cupboard and opened up before you start adding the wet goods to the dried goods (voice of experience). You may need to swap the buns round in the oven so they bake evenly.  The buns are quite large, so you may want to make 12 instead of 8. The baked hot cross buns freeze well.

Reasons to be Cheerful

Our March Reasons to be Cheerful videos started with a food-related one, then I found The Sketch Show online, so we’ve continued with more traditional comedy:

• 3rd March Catherine Tate, Good Brie: Good Brie | The Catherine Tate Show | BBC Studios
• 10th March The Sketch Show: phobias workshop
• 17th March The Sketch Show: Sign language
• 24th March The Sketch Show: English Course
• 31st March The Sketch Show: Learn ABC

Many thanks for reading this LinkedIn newsletter, and many thanks to everyone who has contributed. If you have anything you’d like to share, please email me and I’ll do my best to include it in the next newsletter.

It would be great if you’d like to subscribe to this newsletter, or even our weekly email one https://www.ghsclassificationcourses.com/home/news… (which includes access to the email archive).

Look forward to chatting to you in late April or early May.

Kind regards,

Janet

Janet Greenwood, TT Environmental Ltd