Forgotten Regulation - Walking in the footsteps of Reach the 2008 EU Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation (Regulation (EC) 1272/2008) has received less attention than it deserves from authorities, supply chains and senior management, who are still trying to cope with the massive resource and business implications of Reach. Andrew Fasey explains why despite the pain, businesses stand to gain from putting in place comprehensive compliance strategies for the EU regulation on classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP).

The Reach and CLP work hand-in-hand yet, owing to its origins, CLP has an international dimension that is both important and fascinating and which promises a vision - one day - of a world far less at risk from the hazards of chemicals than today. However, the agents of this change are expected to be companies who may have a long way to go to understand the compliance challenges posed by CLP and its underpinning regime.

The Background

The CLP Regulation entered into force on Jan. 20, 2009, following its publication on Dec. 31, 2008 in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Although it has not attracted the political furor that Reach did, in many ways it will have as important repercussions for companies. Its requirements require rapid, coordinated, effective and efficient action to ensure compliance. Planning to meet these requirements effectively and efficiently, preferably in co-ordination with the requirements of Reach, will give many advantages to the companies concerned.

The Deadlines

One key difference from Reach is the very obvious international dimension. CLP implements in the EU the Globally Harmonized System for the classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS). The GHS will continue to be implemented in most countries across the globe over the coming years.

Time and effort spent implementing CLP in the EU should therefore confer additional benefits on companies in improving their access to non-EU markets as well. It is therefore important for such companies to plan their implementation activities from a global perspective.

Unfortunately, the lead times for many posed specifically by the CLP regulation will be short. The three most pressing and important deadlines under CLP are:

• Dec. 1, 2010 - the deadline for the (re)classification of substances in accordance with CLP.


• Jan. 3, 2011 (in practice Dec. 24, 2010) - first deadline for the notification to the classification and labeling inventory of substances placed on the market on Dec. 1, 2010. (notifications are due 30 days after placing on the market starting from Dec. 1, 2010.


• June 1, 2015 - deadline for the (re)classification of mixtures in accordance with CLP.

Safety Data Sheets

It should not be forgotten that the new requirements for safety data sheets (SDS), closely linked to CLP of course, start from Dec. 1, 2010 as well. Annex II of Reach sets out the requirements for SDS. This Annex was amended through the Commission Regulation No. 453/2010 that was published on May 31.

This amendment makes very significant changes to the SDS provisions by introducing a new version of Annex II that must essentially be complied with from Dec. 1 for substances and a further new version that will be applicable from June 1, 2015 additionally for mixtures (although this basically only removes a requirement to continue to show classifications as per the "old" system under the Dangerous Substances Directive and Dangerous Preparations Directive). It should be noted that the "new" SDS rules for mixtures can also be applied from Dec. 1, as long as classifications under DSD/DPD are shown as well as those arising from application of CLP.

CLP - The Bottom Line Hits

CLP will impose a variety of costs on companies depending on their business, its scale and location, and on the position in the supply chain. The following activities will be required by most companies and will need to be resourced:

• Inventory preparation and updating


• Systematic reviews of requirements from, and related to, CLP


• IT systems to manage CLP


• Reclassifying, relabeling and repackaging products


• Updating SDS


• Training (e.g. staff implementing CLP and workers using classification and labeling information)


• Following CLP and GHS developments (the GHS is updated every two years and CLP will need to follow these changes. The EU will also introduce other changes such as adding substances to the list of those that are harmonized in the EU).


• Testing for physicochemical properties of substances and mixtures if this information does not already exist (NB. this is a requirement now but it is often overlooked).

Piecemeal CLP Compliance - The Risks

In a short article, it is not possible to tell companies everything they should do to ensure effective and efficient compliance. It is sadly far easier to inform them of what might happen if they fail to do a good job: