‘CHIP’ refers to the Chemicals (Hazard Information and packaging for Supply) Regulations 2009. These are also known as CHIP 4 because they represent the fourth time a consolidated version of the CHIP regulations have been enacted.
CHIP implements two European Directives: the Dangerous Substances Directive (No 67/548/EEC) and the Dangerous Preparations Directive (No 1999/45/EC). The Directives, and CHIP, require all chemical suppliers to identify any inherent hazards that may be present in the chemical they wish to supply and communicate those hazards via a hazard label using approved symbols, risk phrases and safety phrases. These will allow suppliers and users to know a chemical’s potential harm and how to protect against it.
Yes because of changes being made to chemical legislation at European level.
The Dangerous Substances Directive and the Dangerous Preparations Directive are being replaced by the European Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures - known as the CLP Regulation. The CLP Regulation adopts throughout European Union (EU) Member States, the detail of the UN Globally Harmonised System on classification and labelling of chemicals.
The CLP Regulation is directly acting, meaning national governments do not need to transpose it into national legislation. The Regulation came into force in all EU Member States, including the UK, on 20 January 2009.
Much of the CLP Regulation is subject to lengthy transitional provisions to help chemical suppliers plan and manage the move of their local supply arrangements from CHIP to the new CLP regime.
The CLP Regulation will fully repeal the Dangerous Substances Directive and the Dangerous Preparations Directive from 1 June 2015. This means the CHIP regulations will also be fully repealed from that date (with the exception of the enforcement provisions that need to remain in place to allow the CLP Regulation to be enforced).
More information about the CLP Regulation, its implications, its transitional arrangements and guidance information is available.
Possibly. In the past the CHIP regulations had to be amended every time there was a change made to the technical annexes of the Dangerous Substances Directive. These changes usually involved revisions to harmonised classifications agreed at European level.
However, these technical amendments will now be made through the CLP Regulation.
If the CHIP regulations change again, it will be to accommodate administrative or editorial amendments (e.g. cross references to up to date legislation).
Announcements will be made on the CHIP webpages or on the Euronews webpages.
Chemical suppliers will be familiar with the Approved Supply List (ASL) as an integral part of the CHIP Regulations.
The ASL published Annex I of the Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC) which lists the harmonised classifications and labelling requirements for some 8000 substances, agreed by experts at European level. The classifications were legally binding and had to be used by suppliers.
On its entry into force on 20 January 2009, the CLP Regulation repealed in full Annex I of the Dangerous Substances Directive. However, as the agreed harmonised classifications and accompanying labelling requirements are still needed throughout the transitional period of the CLP Regulation to allow suppliers to classify preparations (mixtures), the list was immediately re-enacted in Table 3.2 of Part 3 of Annex VI to the CLP Regulation.
Therefore, the entry into force of the CLP Regulation has meant there is no longer a need for the ASL.
The ASL is now out of date and you should not refer to it.
CHIP only applies to Great Britain, although there are similar regulations in Northern Ireland. Other European Member States have their own law, based on the same EC directives as CHIP. In theory, compliance should be achieved by translation of labels and safety data sheets. In practice, we suggest you check with the regulatory agency in the country concerned.
CHIP does not apply to the labelling of these products and the labels do not have to be labelled in English. The labelling requirements of the Member State in which the chemicals are marketed apply. But you may need to comply with CHIP as well if you are supplying to the overseas recipient through a British company who will store them prior to sale for shipment.
You should also check to see if you have any responsibilities under the PIC Regulations which place certain restrictions on the export and import of dangerous chemicals.
You will have to liaise with the appropriate agency in the country concerned, but because CHIP is based on EU Directives the same standards should apply.
While carrying out inspections, HSE Inspectors and Trading Standards Officers may check for non-compliance with CHIP. Non-compliance can also be exposed following investigation of an accident or a complaint. Where non-compliance is detected an enforcement (Improvement or Prohibition) notice may be issued or legal action taken in the courts.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain enforces the CHIP Regulations when a dangerous chemical is supplied from retail pharmacies.
Information about how HSE approaches its enforcement responsibilities can be found on the enforcement website.
No. This is a common misunderstanding. There are no derogations from classification for 'articles' in CHIP, or in the European Directives from which it is derived. So if you are supplying a dangerous substance or preparation which can present a risk - in any form - in principle you will have to classify it and provide information by means of safety data sheets. However, it is recognised that in some cases, the form in which the chemical is supplied may mean that it does not need to be labelled. This is a difficult area in which a case-by-case approach must be taken. However, you can find guidance about it on page 109 of the "Manual of Decisions for implementation of. Directive 67/548/EEC on Dangerous Substances". This part of the manual is mainly concerned with notification of new substances, but it also addresses the packaging and labelling of existing chemicals when they are placed on the market.
Yes. 'Articles' are dealt with under REACH and the CLP Regulation
Regulation 10(7) of CHIP says: ‘If the package is an awkward shape or so small that it is unsuitable to attach a label complying with paragraphs (2) and (5), the label shall be attached in some other appropriate manner.’ Paragraphs 2 and 5 deal with secure fixing of a label and dimensions of the package. For instance, where it is physically impossible to include the advice on the label or the package itself, you may insert safety advice on the use of the preparation in the package. Alternatives to the requirements of paragraphs 2 and 5 include tie-on labels and fold-out labels.
Yes. All the approved test methods that were in Annex V of the Dangerous Substances Directive now appear in the new European Commission Regulation (EC) No 440/2008. However, no changes have been made and the test methods are exactly the same.
The basic procedure is to first check your chemical is not exempted from CHIP 4 (regulation 3), then:
There are a number of occasions where these rules may be modified or not apply so you will need to read the appropriate parts of CHIP before classifying your chemical. You may need to obtain expert advice to help you classify, if you are responsible for classifying a chemical you should be competent to do so.
The above methodology applies but if classification is done by the conventional method (Schedule 3 of CHIP) then appropriate concentration limits to plug into the calculation appear in either Table 3.2 in Part 3 of Annex VI of the CLP Regulation or, if the substance is not listed in Table 3.2, or appears in it without concentration limits, in Part II of Schedule 3 to the CHIP Regulations.
If the substance is in Table 3.2 but your information conflicts with the classification then:
Under CHIP you have to take all reasonable measures to ensure you are complying with the law - this is called due diligence. Where you have conflicting information you will need to approach your suppliers to find out how they classified the substance. You may then realise that one of them is incorrect. But if the position is not clear you may need to carry out your own investigation for information. Once you have this information you should classify it on the basis of an assessment of the evidence by a competent person.
You are not allowed to supply a dangerous chemical unless you have classified it (regulation 4 of CHIP 4). You must also identify the more dangerous ingredients on the label. It would be difficult to be sure either of these are correct unless you know the composition. Under CHIP you must take all reasonable precautions and exercise all due diligence to ensure you are complying with the law. You may therefore need to make enquiries to assure yourself that the information on classification you are being given is correct.
You will need to ensure that the English part of the label complies with the label size requirement in CHIP 4 (regulation 10(5)). CHIP also requires that the information on labels be clear and easy to read.
There is nothing to stop suppliers putting additional information on the label as long as the regulatory information appears in the right format (CHIP 4 regulation 7 (4)) and is not compromised by the information that you add.
The names used must be from an internationally recognised system, for example:
It may be necessary to list several names after the word 'contains'. Each chemical should be named using the form:
The provisions requiring a safety data sheet are no longer in CHIP. Article 32 and Annex II of the European REACH Regulation now provides the legal requirement to provide a safety data sheet.
This publication is now out of date following the removal of safety data sheets (SDS) from CHIP. HSE will be consulting on its formal removal later in 2010 after a full review of supporting guidance. In the interim, the ACoP provides helpful guidance on how to complete a safety data sheet. Suppliers can be encouraged to refer to the ACoP but reminded that it does not have legal standing.
Article 31 and Annex II of the REACH Regulation provides the current legal requirements.
Note: with the exception of Q24, all the advice below relates to confidentiality under the existing CHIP regulations, not the CLP Regulation.
For the time being under CLP, the process and requirements for making a request for an alternative chemical name differ, depending upon whether your request is submitted before or after 1 June 2015.
No. Article 15 of the Dangerous Preparations Directive states that confidentiality is only applicable to substances classified as irritant (excluding severe eye irritation) and/or acutely harmful, or these classifications in combination with a physico-chemical or environmental hazard.
Therefore, a substance classified as Dangerous for the Environment only is not in scope for confidentiality. This will not affect the label since these substances do not need to be mentioned on it. However, the chemical identity of such substance must be disclosed on the SDS.
Subsequent users of a preparation covered by a confidentiality application will need to submit a new confidentiality application themselves if they change the composition of preparation (eg blending, diluting). If this company does not have access to the chemical name of the substance themselves, the HSE reference number of the full application or the name of the preparation will be sufficient. With agreement from the original applicant, we can then refer back to the original full application.
Yes. Free samples constitute a transfer of ownership and this is considered as supply. Therefore a request for confidentiality needs to be made in the same way as for other preparations, and this needs to be before the preparation is given away. An updated application could be used in this situation if a previous full application has been made.
Yes, providing the substance meets the other criteria for confidentiality.
Yes, as long as you use the correct chemical name on the label and safety data sheet etc. You cannot refer to the chemical by the proposed alternative name until HSE has approved your application.
For such substances, any Member State’s competent authority in which the substance is supplied can be approached for applications.
Although there is no formal communication or co-ordination organised between the European Member States implementing the confidentiality provision, the Dangerous Preparations Directorate assumes that confidentiality applications accepted in one country will be automatically accepted in another. In the UK, confidentiality would be automatically accepted on presentation of an acceptance letter from another Member State.
It is your responsibility to keep up with any changes in the classification and labelling of a substance subject to a confidentiality application. HSE should be informed if the change affects the acceptability of the application (eg the substance has become classified as a sensitiser or the classification and labelling of the preparation group is affected). In such a case we would reconsider the application.
Yes, when CHIP 4 became law on 6 April 2009, the arrangements under CHIP 3 ceased to apply and suppliers wanting generic names for the constituents of their preparations have to gain approval under the new system.