Dangerous preparations: classification, packaging and labelling

Responding to Parliament's concerns, Council has inserted into its common position on the packaging of dangerous chemical preparations a clear reference to animal welfare and the obligation on manufacturers to use suitable alternatives to animal testing whenever possible. In view of the improvements introduced in the common position, the Committee adopted only three amendments to the common position in a recommendation drafted under the codecision procedure by Monica BALDI (UPE, I). The amendments to the proposed directive involved: improving the committee procedure for adapting the directive in future to technical progress; tightening up labelling where allergic reactions may occur; and taking account of earlier test results when determining acute aquatic toxicity. The aim of the directive is to bring together in one document all existing EU legislation on dangerous preparations involving mixtures of two or more chemical substances. It will affect hundreds of thousands of products intended for both the general public and professional users and will replace a 1988 dangerous preparations directive. Of the 26 amendments adopted by Parliament during its first reading of the original Commission proposal in June 1997, the common position took over 12 unchanged and accepted two in principle. Improvements introduced by the Council include: extending hazard classification to pesticides; widening the obligation to provide safety data sheets; requiring a warning on the labels of preparations containing 0.1% or more of a sensitising substance ( ie which can cause an allergic reaction); and laying down transitional arrangements for Finland, Sweden, and Austria. �