European Parliament's ENVI Committee Supports Protective Revision of CLP

The members of the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI) have given their resounding support to the draft report proposing a revision of the legislation governing the classification, labelling, and packaging of chemical substances (CLP). The reform of CLP is seen as a pivotal step in enhancing the safeguarding of workers and citizens by improving hazard identification, labeling, and packaging standards for chemicals used across industrial and consumer sectors.

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) has welcomed the positive outcome of the vote, which saw a substantial majority of 63 in favor and only 10 against, with the approval of all compromise amendments forged through months of negotiations among rapporteurs from various political parties.

Natacha Cingotti, Programme Lead for Health and Chemicals at HEAL, emphasized the importance of this vote, stating, "This vote is an important and positive step towards an ambitious European Parliament position on the CLP revision for improved information for citizens and workers exposed to harmful substances. We now urge all MEPs to secure the health wins of the amended report by supporting it in the plenary vote scheduled at the beginning of October."

The ENVI committee's report advances and clarifies the original European Commission proposal with a strong emphasis on protecting public health. Key highlights of the report include:

1. Support for New Hazard Classes: The report endorses the inclusion of new hazard classes in CLP, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC), persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic chemicals (PBT), very persistent, very bioaccumulative (vPvB) chemicals, and persistent, mobile, toxic chemicals (PMT), with proper referencing throughout the text.

2. Modernization: It modernizes the legislation by introducing rules for the sale of chemicals in bulk, regulating the use of refill stations, online sales, and digital labeling.

3. Efficiency and Transparency: The report promotes more efficient and transparent CLP processes by allowing the classification of groups of chemicals, adapting to evolving test methods, extending the mandate for hazard classification initiation to the European Commission, empowering the European Chemicals Agency to manage the classification repository, adjusting deadlines for more timely information, and enhancing transparency obligations for all stakeholders.

4. Clarification on Hazard Classification: Clear and science-based rules for the hazard classification of substances with multiple constituents (MOCS) are provided, benefiting both authorities and industry players.

5. Balanced Labelling Rules: The report achieves a balance between simplifying and updating current labeling rules while ensuring high levels of protection and information for users.

The next steps involve a plenary vote at the European Parliament during the week of October 2-5. Subsequently, trilogue negotiations with the European Commission and the Council will commence.

SOURCE: HEAL Press Note (12/9/2023)