In March 2019 the Pesticide Control Division of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in Ireland announced its plans to begin carrying out inspections on treated articles.
About the BPR
The BPR (Biocidal Products Regulation) is a new EU regulation - which the UK’s HSE has confirmed we will adopt post-Brexit - which provides a strict guideline on approved biocides and which biocide can be used per end use. The BPR has actually been around since 2013, but it has taken many years for the list of approved biocides per end use to be completed, and it looks like testing and approvals are nearing completion. As such, the attention of the regulatory bodies located in each EU member state is now turning to enforcing compliance.
A treated article is any article which has had a biocidal ingredient added to provide some sort of biocidal effect. Common examples are; an antibacterial effect, a preservative effect, a mould resistant effect, etc.
If you’d like to learn more about the BPR and biocides you can download our free BPR eBook here.
BPR Enforcement In Ireland
The DAFM sent out the following communication regarding the commencement of BPR testing in Ireland (NB: TA is the abbreviation used for Treated Article)
We will be checking the following information as part of the inspection;
- Confirm if the article is a TA or a biocidal product
- Check if the TA contains an approved Active Substance
- Is the TA correctly labelled, i.e., contains the text “the treated article incorporates biocidal products”, “ name of the active substance” and any appropriate instructions
- Is marketing information on your website for the TA consistent with the claims on the TA label
- If you make a TA available for sale/use on the Irish market, we will request the following information be provided within 45 days of an inspection:
- TA manufacturer (name and address)
- TA distributor
- Primary & additional functions of the TA
- Biocidal product (active ingredient and concentration) and how it was incorporated into the TA
- Supplier of the active ingredient/biocidal product
- Any relevant instructions for use including any precautions to be taken
We reached out to DAFM for comment on their proposed enforcement plans but they were unable to specify at this stage. We expect they will take a broadly similar approach to HSE in the UK which is to inspect, advise, and send warnings before any more serious legal actions.
While your treated articles should no longer contain any biocides not on the approved list, it is feasible that you may have non-compliant stock which should not be placed for sale on the market in Ireland. So please do download the eBook which is packed full of helpful information, and fee free to contact our team if you’d like a free no-obligation regulatory consultation.
Is BPR Enforcement Coming To The UK?
HSE have been a little quiet on this topic, but since this regulation has been law for a number of years, it’s safe to say that if you’re not BPR-compliant you may hear from HSE, especially now that Brexit has been put on-hold until the end of October. We haven’t received any communications stating that HSE or local authorities are now carrying out inspections in the UK, but that certainly doesn't mean that inspections are not happening.
HSE outlines it’s enforcement plan on their website here. If you think that the biocide you’re using for your Treated Article is not compliant with the BPR the best thing to do is reach out to HSE and inform them of your plans to correct this, and then ensure you’re compliant as quickly as possible. Proactivity will be looked on more favourably than reactivity.
At Addi-Tec we have various approved biocidal ingredients on offer, and can usually find the right product for your needs. Why not contact us for a free BPR consultation?