A useful reminder from Packaging News:

The UN’s Globally Harmonised System (GHS) on the classification, labelling and packaging of hazardous substances is to be incorporated into EU law after MEPs reached an “acceptable compromise”.

The new regulation will replace existing EU directives on classification and labelling of substances.

The aim of the GHS system is to enable products to be judged on their physical hazards and toxicity and to provide them with suitable labelling and information on safety measures, which could be through labels, hazard pictograms and words such as ‘Danger’ or ‘Warning’.

As with the current legislation, the proposed new regulation is intended to be primarily a self-classification system for businesses.

The regulation is in line with Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (Reach) legislation, although “some small amendments” to do with classification and labelling will have to be made.

A Press Release from the EU adds:

The compromise which has been agreed between representatives of the Parliament and the Council, aims to implement the GHS system into EU legislation. The new regulation will replace the existing EU directives on classification and labelling of substances which set forth an extensive system (3 key directives), but the current rules and the GHS are conceptually similar. The proposal aims to maintain the current level of environment and health protection, to keep the scope of the classification and labelling rules as close as possible to the existing EU system and to ensure a smooth transition to a new system based on GHS. The reclassification and labelling of most substances must be completed by 1.12.2010 for substances and 1.6.2015 for mixtures. The current Directives on classification, labelling and packaging will be repealed on 1 June 2015. During a transitory period both systems will be applied.

Click on the above links for more information.

Nexreg has more information on GHS at the following link:

• GHS Strategic Planning (English)

To speak to a Nexreg representative about how GHS will impact your company, please call or e-mail Nexreg at:

Nexreg Toll Free: 1-866-361-3032
E-mail:info@nexreg.com

A notice from the EPA on an upcoming public meeting:

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, EPA gives notice of a public meeting of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) Work Group on Comparative Safety Statements or Logos for Pesticide Product Labeling on September 10, 2008…

This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of particular interest to persons who work in agricultural settings or persons who are concerned about implementation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA); and the amendments to both of these major pesticide laws by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996…

The objective of the PPDC Work Group on Comparative Safety Statements or Logos for Pesticide Product Labeling is to address the interest being expressed by the public for possible development of Agency or third party endorsements/statements or logos on labels regarding comparative product safety. The work group will make recommendations to the full PPDC as to whether the government should pursue a policy and regulatory change in order to develop or allow these types of statements or logos…

Click on the above link for more information.

But not for consumer products, according to a recent article:

The classification and communication of chemical hazard labelling will be implemented in the industrial and agriculture sectors apart from consumer products by 2010, said Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Noraini Ahmad…

“Unlike in the European countries, Malaysia was a bit slow in implementing the GHS because it had to be carried out in stages and with the agreement of the other nine Asean countries,” she told reporters after opening the two-day Chemical Management at the Work Place Seminar here Wednesday…

Noraini said after the implementation of the GHS, all imported products would be uniformly labelled and classified to facilitate their usage in the chemical industry. “For example, the chemical elements in imported hair shampoos sold in Malaysia were not uniformly labelled and unclear because of the differences in labelling definitions, thus they needed to be harmonised,” she said.

Click on the top link for the full article.

Nexreg has more information on GHS at the following link:

• GHS Strategic Planning (English)

To speak to a Nexreg representative about how GHS or REACH will impact your company, please call or e-mail Nexreg at:

Nexreg Toll Free: 1-866-361-3032
E-mail:info@nexreg.com

The new environmental guidelines we mentioned earlier in the week have been released. A press release from the competition bureau states:

Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers addresses a number of commonly used green claims and provides examples of best practices on how such claims can be used by businesses to comply with the false or misleading provisions of the laws enforced by the Competition Bureau. Among other practices, the Guide states that:

• The use of vague claims implying general environmental improvement are insufficient and should be avoided.
• Environmental claims should be clear, specific, accurate and not misleading.
• Environmental claims should be verified and substantiated, prior to being made.

…The Bureau recognizes companies may wish to reassess their advertising and labelling in light of the Guide. A one-year transition phase will allow legitimate businesses to change their marketing practices, if necessary, and will also allow the Bureau and CSA to raise awareness and understanding on the new environmental guidelines.

During this one-year transition period, the Bureau will not hesitate to pursue egregious cases of deceptive environmental claims.

Although the Guide is not law, following the best practices outlined will help businesses to avoid making misleading claims that contravene the laws enforced by the Bureau. The Guide will be used by the Bureau to assess environmental advertising that raise concerns under its legislative mandate.

Click on the above link for the full press release.

We highly encourage our colleagues and clients to ensure that their labels comply with the guidelines. A PDF copy of the guidlines is available here (PDF).

First of all, we would like to welcome you to our newly re-designed news site. We hope that you find it easier to navigate than the previous version of Regulatory News by Nexreg Compliance. The site has not been tested against every possible browser and resolution combination. If you find any display errors, we would appreciate it if you let us know by e-mail at info@nexreg.com

In other news, Nexreg Compliance is introducing three free regulatory compliance newsletters. The two-page newsletters summarize major chemical compliance news and will be released bi-monthly. The three newsletters are as follows:

• Canadian Regulatory Compliance News
• U.S. Regulatory Compliance News
• Global Regulatory Compliance News (covering GHS, REACH, etc.)

The first issue of the Canadian newsletter has just been released. If you wish to receive copies of one or all over the newsletters sent by mail or by e-mail (as a PDF file), please send your contact information to info@nexreg.com.

From The Guardian:

European Union agriculture ministers struck a compromise deal on Monday to revise pesticide authorisation laws that should cut the number of crop chemicals that can be sold in EU markets, officials and diplomats said.

The proposed changes, which will now be debated by the European Parliament in the autumn, would replace a law dating from 1991 and let groups of countries with similar geography and climate to decide whether farmers may use specific products.

Britain, Hungary, Ireland and Romania abstained in Monday’s vote, saying the final text was too restrictive and focused too much on danger analysis of pesticides rather than risk analysis.

But the EU’s remaining 23 countries voted in favour, after changes were agreed by EU ambassadors last week for countries to apply exceptions, under certain strict conditions, for particular substances to gain bloc-wide authorisation.

Click on the above link for the full story.

A google translate into English of the draft of NOM-232-SSA1-200 is available here:

Draft Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-232-SSA1-2006, Pesticides: laying down the requirements of packaging and labelling of products for use in agriculture, forestry, livestock, gardening, urban, industrial and domestic.

This project is published so that interested parties, within 60 calendar days from the date of its publication, submit their comments in Spanish language and with sufficient technical support to the National Advisory Committee for Standardization Regulation and Health Promotion.

Click on the above link for the full draft of the regulations in Google-translated English. To read the draft in the original Spanish click here.

From the Canadian Press:

Environment Minister John Gerretsen says Ontario’s proposed pesticide ban seeks to look at the “cumulative effects” of chemicals like 2,4-D. He says the federal government looks at such chemicals on a “product-by-product” basis.

The provincial government has put forward a list of 80 chemicals and 300 products that will be part of a regulatory system to be invoked if the bill passes.

The exact products and ingredients to be banned in Ontario will be laid out in the regulations.

The full text of the bill is here: Bill 64, Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act, 2008.

The lists of 80 chemicals and 300 products are available at the following links, in PDF format.

• List of Active Ingredients (PDF)
• List of Pesticide Products (PDF)

From the EPA:

Pesticide Management and Disposal; Standards for Pesticide Containers and Containment: Proposed Amendments

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to amend the container and containment regulations to provide a 1-year extension of the labeling compliance date from August 17, 2009 to August 17, 2010; to change the phrase “sold or distributed'’ to “released for shipment'’ as associated with all of the compliance dates; to provide for exceptions to the language requirements for some specific nonrefillable packages; to allow for waivers of certain label requirements for other refillable and nonrefillable containers on a case-by-case basis; and to correct typographical and other minor errors. In addition, the Agency is proposing to amend the definitions in 40 CFR part 152 to establish a definition of “released for shipment.'’ These changes are being proposed to address concerns raised by stakeholders and as a result of further Agency consideration.

Click on the above link for the full detials.

From the EPA - two final rules for pesticide tolerances. First: Fluopicolide:

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of fluopicolide in or on vegetable, root, subgroup 1A, except sugar beet and carrot; vegetable, leaves of root and tuber, group 2; vegetable, bulb, group 3-07; and Brassica, head and stem, subgroup 5A. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). In connection with a request for new uses of the active ingredient, fluopicolide, the Agency has also evaluated the toxicity and exposure databases for 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) which is a common metabolite/degradate of dichlobenil and fluopicolide. Further characterization of fluopicolide and its metabolite BAM, will be discussed herein of this document.

Second: Hexythiazox:

This regulation establishes tolerances for combined residues of hexythiazox in or on corn, field, grain; corn, field, stover; and corn, field, forage. Gowan Company requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

As always, click on the links for more details.