REACH:

REACH is a new European Regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of CHemicals.
It came into force on 1st June 2007 and replaces a number of European Directives and Regulations with a single system. It will be implemented over the next 11 years.

Aims:
•    To provide a high level of protection of human health and the environment from the use of chemicals.
•    To make the people who place chemicals on the market responsible for understanding and managing risks associated with their use.
•    To allow the free movement of chemicals on the EU market.
•    To enhance innovation in and the competitiveness of the EU chemical industry.
•    To promote the use of alternative methods for the assessment of the hazardous properties of substances.

A European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland deals with the day to day management of the REACH requirements:

•    Registration – chemical producers / importers must submit a registration dossier containing safety data to the chemicals agency for all chemicals produced in quantities above 1 tonne per year.
•    Evaluation – experts evaluate safety data for higher volume chemicals and other chemicals of concerns.
•    Authorisation – chemicals of very high concern will be phased out and replaced by safer alternatives, where this is technically and economically viable.

This will happen in a staged process but will probably take about 10-15 years. The first stage; registering chemicals, is now underway. Now that this is under way then those manufacturers (or importers) of the chemicals will need to know how their customers are using them so they can calculate the exposure to those chemicals correctly. Companies such as Alpha Chemicals need to ensure that their suppliers are going through the registration phase and we can confirm that this is taking place.

For more information please visit http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Your_Industry/Chemicals/REACH/

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS (MSDS):

If a business uses or supplies chemical products they should know about the requirement for safety data sheets.

Article 31 of REACH require suppliers, such as Alpha Chemicals, to identify the hazards (or dangers) of the chemicals they supply. This is called classification. Some hazard information will be provided on labels (CLP) but an important requirement of REACH is that Alpha Chemicals must provide all their customers with more detailed hazard information on a safety data sheet (MSDS).

MSDS are important in helping make the workplace safe and to protect the environment. The safety data sheet itself is not an assessment of risk but it will describe the hazards, helping to assess the probability of the hazard/risk arising in the workplace.
It is Alpha Chemicals who is responsible for providing accurate safety data sheets.

REACH lists 16 headings which must appear on a safety data sheet. The information included under these headings will help you to make sure that the product is used safely: 

•    Identification of substance/preparation and company undertaking
•    Composition/information on ingredients
•    Hazards identification
•    First aid measures
•    Fire fighting measures
•    Accidental release measures
•    Handling and storage
•    Exposure controls/personal protection
•    Physical and chemical properties
•    Stability and reactivity
•    Toxicological activity
•    Ecological activity
•    Disposal conditions
•    Transport information
•    Regulatory information
•    Other information

As mentioned above, the Alpha Chemicals MSDS are designed by an industry regulatory compliance company. They ensure all information is correct and kept up-to-date. For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 

BIOCIDAL PRODUCTS DIRECTIVE (BPD):

The Biocidal Products Directive is a European Directive which has three main objectives:-

1. To harmonise the European market and their active substances to enable all EEC members to compete on a level playing field.
2. To provide a high level of protection by ensuring all biocidal products are registered and assessed for toxicity to humans and the environment.
3. To ensure products are sufficiently effective against the target species.

What is a biocidal product? A biocidal product does not actually have to kill. If it is used to destroy, deter, make harmless, or control a harmful organism by chemical or biological means it may be considered a biocide. Biocides can be divided into 4 groups; disinfectants and general biocidal products, preservatives, pest control and other biocidal products. The Department Of Agriculture Food & The Marine (DAFM) acts as the Competent Authority to for the implementation of the biocides legislation under the BPD in the Republic Of Ireland. 

For those who wish to read more please visit http://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/biocides/ 

PCS NO:

The Pesticide Control Service (PCS) of the Department of Agriculture, Food & The Marine is the competent authority for the implementation of the biocides legislation in Ireland. 
This Irish legislation requires that all biocides (using the EU BPD definition) on the market in Ireland must be notified to the PCS using the required notification form. The notification form provides basic information on the nature, composition and intended uses of the biocide. This notification is a transitional measure, which will allow the products concerned to remain on the market pending completion of the EC biocides review programme specified in the BPD.

It is the responsibility of the company that markets a biocide in Ireland to ensure that the product is notified to the PCS in accordance with S.I. No. 625, either by themselves or by another company acting on their behalf. Alpha Chemicals have done this and all of our products that contain a biocide have a PCS number.
All of the costs associated with the implementation of the legislation will eventually be borne by the biocides industry. However, no blanket charges are being levied on industry during the initial notification phase for 'existing' biocides. Existing biocides are defined as those on the market in Ireland prior to the 1st of February 2002 and new biocides are those not on the Irish market prior to that date. Applications for notification of a new biocide are subject to a fee.

More information is available at www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/ 

DANGEROUS PREPARATIONS DIRECTIVE (DPD):

In 2007 the 2nd Amendment due to Technical Progress of the EU Dangerous Preparations Directive (2nd ATP of DPD) of the European Commission came into force.
This legislation has caused the range of products that carry the ‘dead fish, dead tree’ symbol (N hazard classification) to be extended.

These label changes are the result of the way hazards are now viewed under the new legislation and not as a result of any product formulation changes.
The classification applies to products in their undiluted state. However when the product is diluted and disposed of as recommended, by the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), they pose no threat to the environment. All products are biodegradable and over time they lose their toxicity.
 
Alpha Chemicals comply with all MSDS hazard classifications.

DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES DIRECTIVE (DSD):

A European law covering dangerous substances was introduced in 1967 to protect public health, in particular the health of workers handling dangerous substances. The law, known as the Directive on Dangerous Substances introduced EU-wide provisions on the classification, packaging and labeling of dangerous substances. The classification of dangerous substances places a substance into one or several defined classes of danger and characterises the type and severity of the adverse effects that the substance can cause. The packaging of dangerous substances protects individuals from the known risks of a substance, and the labeling of dangerous substances provides information about the nature of the substance's risks and about the safety measures to apply during handling and use.

Since it was adopted in 1967 the directive has regularly been updated to take into account the latest scientific and technical progress so as to ensure the highest level of protection for individuals and the environment. This also ensures that the internal market functions most efficiently. The amendments to the directive enable newly identified hazardous materials to be added to the list of dangerous substances. The most recent known as the 30th Adaptation to Technical Progress (ATP) introduces or modifies the EU harmonised classification and labelling requirements for more than 800 substances.