Third and fourth amendments to Annex I of EC Regulation 689/2008 on the export and import of dangerous chemicals (PIC)

Government department lead

HSE

Background

Commission Regulation (EC) 689/2008 (which replaced Regulation (EC) 304/2003) is a directly acting European Regulation that implements European Union Member States’ obligations under the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. The UK became a party to the Rotterdam Convention in 1998.

Regulation (EC) 689/2008 came into force on 1 August 2008 and the UK enforcement regulations (SI 2008 No. 2108) came into force on 3 September 2008.

Main Provisions

The Rotterdam Convention aims to promote shared responsibility and cooperation in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals. It gives importing countries the power to make informed decisions on which chemicals they want to receive, and to exclude those they cannot manage safely.
Regulation (EC) 689/2008/ also requires information to be exchanged about chemicals banned for use or severely restricted within the European Community and it increases the number of chemicals subject to the Prior Informed Consent Procedure.

Previous amendments

Commission Regulation (EU) 15/2010, which came into force on 29 January 2010, added a number of substances to Annex I of EC 689/2008. It also amended or removed some other entries. Further additions and amendments to Annex I were introduced by Regulation (EU) 196/2010, which came into effect on 1 May 2010.

New Developments

Two further amending Regulations have been proposed by the Commission and, if agreed, they are likely to come into effect in early 2011. The first Regulation will add or amend Annex I Part 1 and 2 entries for nine substances. The second Regulation will add or amend Annex I entries for a further nine substances. It will also add some substances to Annex V of the Regulation, including nine persistent organic pollutants subject to the Stockholm Convention plus mercury and several mercury compounds, meaning that they will be subject to a European Union export ban.

Further Information

For further information about the export and import of dangerous chemicals from and into Europe, please visit the PIC webpages.