Five years have passed since the European Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) became effective back in September 2013. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) decided to celebrate this date by holding a Biocides Day on October 24-25 to report on the current implementation of the BPR Regulation and its way forward.

By the end of October 2018, the EU had approved 144 biocide active substances, including 6 microorganisms, covering pesticides, preservatives, anti-allergic agents, antibacterial and antibacterial products, and utensils and furniture for kitchen-use, as well as downstream manufacturers of paint, coatings, textiles, building materials, carpets, ceramic products and electronic appliances. In addition, the EU banned 15 active substances and combinations of uses, such as triclosan (CAS No. 3380-34-5) which was banned from human sanitizers, non-human and animal contact disinfectants, film preservatives and, among the preservatives for fibers, leather, rubber and polymerised material. Silver chloride (CAS No.: 7783-90-6) is banned from veterinary disinfectants, food and feed area disinfectants, drinking water disinfectants and cutting fluid preservatives. MBIT (CAS No.: 2527-66-4) was banned from cutting fluid preservatives. Related banned substances include disinfectants, fungicides, industrial insecticides, acaricides, antifouling agents and fibers, leather, rubber, polymers, building materials and related preservatives. Products containing banned active substances will not be allowed to circulate the EU market.

As more and more active substances are approved, product authorization applications continue to increase. As of October 2018, member states had completed 7,900 authorizations, mainly in the areas of wood preservatives, rodenticides and pesticides. Union Authorization refers to the type of product authorization enables a product to be sold throughout the EU. As of 2018, ECHA has received 80 applications of Union Authorization, of which 2 have received approval.

As regards law enforcement, although BPR has only been effective for five years, the regulatory system has reached a high standard, with various law enforcement projects launched. At present, various member states of the European Union have initiated the labeling of biocide products. According to data gathered from the conference, the focus of law enforcement in 2019 will be biocide treated articles. Biocide treated articles are the latest to be incorporated into BPR regulations. Most of the enterprises affected are those engaged in the clothing, furniture, leather, sanitary ware, rubber, plastics and paints industries.

ECHA stated future steps are accelerating the review process of biocide active substances. As the compliance deadline approaches and the overall market compliance awareness increases, product licensing applications are on the rise. Each member country will improve its efficiency, release resources, and complete their authorization approval as soon as possible to prevent backlogs. To sum up, as far as the jurisdiction of BPR is concerned, companies should pay attention to the approval progress of biocide active substances and products regularly, and actively prepare compliance data, in order to finish compliance duties before the deadline and seize the European market share.

REACH24H CONCULTING GROUP CHINA regularly follows up on biocide regulations and will continue releasing the most updated information. We recommend that in order to ensure an orderly and responsible product authorization, companies with plans to expand their business into the EU market stay up to date on the latest developments.

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