Transition Period for submissions in Poison Centre Notification (PCN)

According to paragraph 1.4 Part A of Regulation 542/2017, importers and downstream users who have submitted information on hazardous mixtures to a body appointed in accordance with Article 45 (1) before the dates of applicability mentioned in Sections 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 and which are not in accordance with this Annex, shall for those mixtures not be required to comply with this Annex until 1 January 2025.

By way of derogation from Section 1.4, importers and downstream users must comply with the requirements of Article 45 of the CLP Regulation before 1 January 2025 before placing the mixture on the market if there is an obligation to submit an update:

  • When the product identifier of the mixture (including UFI) changes
  • When the classification of the mixture has changed in terms of health or physical hazards,
  • When relevant new toxicological information required in section 11 of the safety data sheet
  • If a change in the composition of the mixture meets one of the following conditions:
  1. addition, substitution, or deletion of one or more components in the mixture that shall be indicated in accordance with Section 3.3;
  2. change in the concentration of a component in the mixture beyond the concentration range provided in the original submission;
  3. the exact concentration of a component was provided in accordance with Sections 3.4.1 or 3.4.2, and a change occurs to that concentration beyond the limits identified in the following Table.
Exact concentration of the component contained in the mixture (%) Variations (±) of the initial component concentration requiring a submission update
> 25 – ≤ 100 5 %
> 10 – ≤ 25 10 %
> 2,5 – ≤ 10 20 %
≤ 2,5 30 %

When the fragrances or perfumes in a group submission change, the list of mixtures and the fragrances or perfumes they contain as required in Section 3.1 of Reg. (EU) 2017/542 shall be updated.

EUCLEF: The new search engine for EU chemicals legislation

On March 4, 2020, the European Organization for Chemicals (ECHA) released the new search tool, EUCLEF (European Union Chemicals LEgislation Finder) which provides a free overview of more than 30 EU legislation related to chemicals.  EUCLEF aims to help companies, especially SMEs, “to find out how their substances are being regulated in the EU and what legal obligations they have”.

EUCLEF is a search engine that links chemicals to the legislation that applies to them. In addition, it provides a summary of each legislative act, which includes the scope, obligations, exceptions, list of related chemicals and direct links to the relevant legal texts in the official languages ​​of each EU Member state.

EUCLEF contains regulations applying horizontally such as REACH, CLP, Inland transport of dangerous goods (ADR, AND, RID), environmental legislations such as IED, Ambient Air directives, Wastes, Health and Safety legislation such as CAD, OELs and product-specific legislation such as plant protection products, detergents etc.

Eco Efficiency Ltd signed a New 3 years Contract with DG ENV for the Development of Guidelines for Best Risk Management Approaches in the Extractive Sector

In December 2019  Eco-Efficiency Ltd entered into a new contract with DG Environment to elaborate the new 3 yeas project “Study Supporting the Development of Guidelines for Best Risk Management Approaches in the Extractive Sector”

Eco-Efficiency Consulting and Engineering Ltd (EL) is the lead contractor and will carry out this project with WEFalck (FR), Satarla (UK), CRS Ingenería (ES), Geologia e Geotecnia Consultores, Lda (GGC, PT), Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences (MEERI, PL), Pöyry Finland Oy (FI), Total Business Land (TBL, RO) and Ivan Andreev (BG) as subcontractors.

Project manager is Dr Petros Marampoutis, CEO of the Eco-Efficiency Ltd

https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:601792-2019:TEXT:EN:HTML&WT.mc_id=RSS-Feed&WT.rss_f=Construction+and+Real+Estate&WT.rss_a=601792-2019&WT.rss_ev=

Eco-Efficiency Ltd participates at the project “Development and promotion of soft skills and competences of OSH Management in extractive enterprises focused to SMEs” running by the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Eco-Efficiency Ltd is running the project “Development and promotion of soft skills and competences of OSH Management in extractive enterprises focused to SMEs” for the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, in order to support social dialogue as a subcontractor to Euromines and IndustriAll. The scope of this project is the development and promotion of soft skills and competences for OSH management system tailor-made to small and medium and micro-enterprises of the extractive industries with the participation of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Spain. This project is based on the exchange of information between the National and European associations and federations of the participated countries.

Eco-Efficiency Ltd undertook the preparation of (a) the factsheets for the identification of OSH status of extractive (SMEs) industries (b) Self-assessment tools for the evaluation of OSH in an extractive SME  (c) Training material for OSH soft skills promotion.

Product Life Cycle – CO2 Emission (GHG)

Emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) are increasingly affecting the climate and consequently, the temperature of the earth. CO2 is the most commonly produced greenhouse gas by human activities and responsible for 63% of the global warming due to these activities. Its concentration in the atmosphere is now 40% higher than at the start of industrialization.

The impacts of climate change on humans and ecosystems have pushed research and technology into finding solutions in order to control anthropogenic emissions. The supporting of the above effort from the industry and businesses is vital for progress to be made, while at a corporate level it can be used as a competitive advantage of a business over others, as reducing emissions achieves multiple benefits in terms of both energy savings and reduced production costs. The capture of CO2 is a trend followed by businesses worldwide as its identification serves as evidence of the corporate and social responsibility of a company. As a result, Greek companies are now focusing on CO2 quantification as more and more companies are asking their suppliers for carbon footprint data.

The corporate action to address the impacts associated with greenhouse gas emissions can be based on taking into account and quantifying the environmental impacts associated with its products following a route from the birth till the end of their life (cradle to grave). The analysis focuses on the calculation and quantification of CO2 emissions of the raw materials used and the treatment of waste.

Quantification of the carbon footprint is based on life cycle assessment (LCA). This method is the only internationally accredited method of environmental impact assessment, in accordance with the following International Standards:

  • ISO 14040-43(1997-2000) Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework
  • ISO 14040-44(2006) Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines

Life Cycle Analysis (ISO) is defined as: the concentration and calculation of inputs, outputs and environmental impacts of a production system over its life cycle. Life cycle (ISO) defines the continuous and communicative stages of a production system from the collection or generation of raw materials to the final disposal of the product (waste).

Life cycle analysis is based on three Scopes:

Scope 1: Concerns direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the Agency. The sources are related to the production process, the consumption of oil or gas for both heating /cooling purposes and for the movement of the company’s vehicles.

Scope 2: Relates to indirect emissions and concerns emissions from electricity, heat or steam generation from the electricity supplier, from which the Company meets its energy needs

Scope 3: Other indirect CO2 footprints associated with the company’s activities (e.g. travel and movement of workers, waste disposal and management, energy footprint of raw materials for the operation of the business)

The following figure shows the correlation between the Corporate Standard, the Product Standard and the Scope 3 Standard.

Contract from EC – DG Environment on Study supporting the elaboration of guidance on best practices in the Extractive Waste Management Plans (EWMP)

ECO EFFICIENCY LTD awarded the contract from European Commission – DG Environment to perform the “Study supporting the elaboration of guidance on best practices in the Extractive Waste Management Plans (EWMP)” (ENV.B.3/ETU/2017/0022).

The general objective of this study is to support the Commission in the elaboration of guidance on best practices in EWMPs and in its broader work aimed at improving the implementation of the Mining Waste Directive – MWD (Directive 2006/21/EC).

This project aims are:

  • to identify best practices which will reflect the scope of the document “Closing the loop – An EU action plan for the Circular Economy”, which describes the ‘circular economy’ as an economy where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste minimized. The draft guidance will be completed by 2018,
  • support further the implementation of the MWD and specifically to develop a guidance on how best to develop an EWMP from the technical prospective (Article 5(2)(c) and Article 5 (3) of the EWD) by the middle of 2019

Eco – Efficiency Ltd will collaborate with the following subcontractors to materialize the project:  WEFalck (France), Pöyry Finland Oy (Finland), CRS Ingenería (Spain) and Botond Kertész (Hungary).

5th International Conference of HSWMA

On 14 and 15 December 2017, the 5th International Conference of the Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association (HSWMA) will be held in cooperation with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). The conference is about “Solid Waste Management and its Contribution to Circular Economics” and it will take place in the historic buildings of the National Technical University of Athens, on Patission Street.

Ecoefficiency, as a member of HSWMA, will participate in the conference that focuses on new waste management technologies, National and Regional Management Plans and Waste Management Tools focusing on Cyclical Economy practices. The communication between the public and private waste management bodies in Greece, as well as the link between applied research and the respective companies and organizations, are also an objective of this Conference.

For more information: http://conference2017.eedsa.gr/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/5th-International-Conference-HSWMA.pdf

For Entries, please visit: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/5th-eedsa-conference

Notifying hazardous mixtures for Poison Centres – What you need to know

In accordance with the Article 45 of the CLP Regulation and the Regulation 2017/542, importers or downstream users that place mixtures on the market are required to notify mixtures classified as hazardous to physical agents or to human health (excluding mixtures classified for environmental hazards, gases under pressure or explosives) into a centralized submission system that will collect data on national poison centers.

 

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will start gathering harmonized information on existing chemicals in a new Poison Centre Notification (PCN) format starting in 2020 and phasing-in by 2024, which will be available to the authorities of the EU Member States.

The information required for the notification of the products at the Poison Centre Control is more than the typical information that has so far been submitted to national appointed bodies. Companies beyond the general information on the product, should provide:

  • classification and labeling based on the hazardous ingredients contained and the CLP criteria
  • all non-classified ingredients contained in the mixture if they exceed a content of more than 1%
  • pH values of the mixture
  • type(s) and size(s) of the package
  • product category according to the EU product categorization system (preparation by ECHA)

The notification of the hazard data to the above-mentioned portal (PCN) will be linked to a unique synthesis label. Each label will be identified by a new Unique Formula Identifier (UFI) code that will be received by ECHA through an online procedure on its website and will vary for each substance and mixture. The UFI ID should be included on the product label and for industrial uses, it will be added to the Safety Data Sheets of the substance.

The figure below is set out in the timeline of the implementation requirements. Eco-Efficiency is ready to support you of the upcoming changes and to organize the procedures for the notification of your products to the Poison Center on the basis of the new expected obligations.

 

For any information visit the official website:

https://poisoncentres.echa.europa.eu/en/

Request to the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) to provide an evaluation of occupational exposure limits (OELs) for nickel and its compounds, acrylonitrile and benzene

The Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) requested ECHA (in their letter Ref. GL/ps ARES env.b.2(2017)1407647 of 8 March 2017) to evaluate the information already available and assess the most recent scientific information, in accordance with Directive 98/24/EC on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (CAD) and/or Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work (CMD), on the chemical compounds: 4,4′- methylenebis[2-chloroaniline] (MOCA), arsenic acid and its inorganic salts, nickel and its compounds, acrylonitrile and benzene.

The purpose of this evaluation and assessment is to support the Commission, by providing scientific advice, in taking action on the Proposal to amend Directive 2004/37/EC (4th amendment). The RAC opinions provided shall include a recommendation to the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSH) in line with the OSH legislative procedures and, on request of the Commission, the SCOEL-format in drafting their opinions shall be used and would need to be provided to the Commission by 26 March 2018. To this end, detailed timelines will be prepared and agreed with the Committee.

For more information: https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/13641/rac_mandate_for_oels_for_nickel_en.pdf/647788e7-24d2-ff4f-93a0-7d87fdfae28a