BLOG TOPIC: Flint Group European Safety Data Sheet Revisions – 2023

13 Mar 2023

Flint Group’s Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs department is at the core of Flint Group and fostered throughout the company’s entire value chain. The company’s focus on product safety includes constant upkeep and evaluation of Safety Data Sheets (SDSs).  SDS are essential documents enabling the safe supply, handling, and use of chemicals. They help ensure that those who use chemicals in the workplace use them safely without risk of harm to users or the environment.

An SDS contains the information necessary to allow employers to do risk assessments in line with regulations and describes the hazards helping employers assess the probability of those hazards arising in the workplace.

Effective January 1st, 2023, an update to the EU Commission Regulation 2020/878 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1907 / 2006 of the European Parliament and the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) has been implemented. This update provides several new requirements for the design and content of Safety Data Sheets.

Flint Group has updated its SDS template format per the new requirements as a responsible global supplier of consumables for the print industry. As a result, customers will automatically receive the updated Safety Data Sheet whenever an SDS is requested.

 

An SDS has 16 sections; the most important changes affect the following sections:

  • 0 UFI codes

  • 3 Endocrine disruptors

  • 3, 3.1 & 3.2 New or clarified requirements for nanoforms, Specific Concentration Limits (SCL), M-factors and ATE (Acute toxicity estimate)

  • 0 More refined section with physical and chemical properties to now be listed

  • 2.1 New subsection – Endocrine disruptors (Health)

  • 6 New subsection – Endocrine disruptors (Environment)

 

Concerning section 1.0, a unique formula identifier (UFI) - a 16-character code for mixtures – will continuously be added as they are available and will be finalised before the mandatory date of January 1st, 2024. Where nanomaterials (or materials including them) are incorporated in the formulation, SDS now uses the term ‘nanoform.’ For Flint Group specifically, nano-pigments are currently in scope.

With an increasing focus on health and the environment, several sections now require the inclusion of information on properties that might pose a risk to the human endocrine system. In addition, if the chemical is a mixture, information is now provided for each constituent potential endocrine-disrupting substance at a concentration equal to or greater than 0.1% by weight.

The challenge at this stage relates to the specific classification of potential endocrine-disrupting materials, as no hazard classes currently exist. However, the European Commission has proposed a revised Regulation on the classification, labelling, and packaging of chemicals (CLP) and hazard classes for endocrine disruptors, as well as other chemical substances. This revised Regulation will now be subject to the approval of the European Parliament and Council as part of the ordinary legislative procedure.

The Commission Delegated Act introducing the new hazard classes is expected to enter into force in 2023 after scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council.

Furthermore, the EU will chair a new United Nations informal working group to develop global criteria for the newly adopted hazard classes. Again, as a responsible supplier seeking compliance across all its operations, Flint Group will integrate these classes into SDSs once ratified and available.

 

For more information on regulatory compliance, please contact us at info.packaginginks@flintgrp.com.