News
Due to ECHA taking over the ownership of EUSES, ECHA held a workshop for invited stakeholders from industrial chemicals and biocides areas on update needs of EUSES. Our Markus Schwarz attended this workshop. Relating to both, release as well as fate modelling modules, attendants had the possibility to raise topics in addition to the ones proposed by the workshop organizing committee in advance of the workshop. As such, 27 topics were raised for discussion. A document with detailed description for each topic is available from ECHA’s web page (Annex 2). All topics were explained and discussed, 12 topics were prioritized before the workshop based on impact and state of development. Participants selected ca. 8 topics for further discussions in a “World Café”. The workshop was meant as an initial prioritization approach on update needs. ECHA intends to provide a documentation of the workshop for download. The workshop will be followed by a more detailed pre-study on needs, solutions and costs (Q4 2018 to Q2 2019) as a basis for ECHA to decide on a redevelopment and update of EUSES (possibly Q4 2019 to Q3 2021).
In March 2018, the draft of an ECHA guidance on ANNEX VIII to the existing CLP regulation was published. On 1st January 2020, importers and downstream users will have to notify hazardous mixtures for consumer applications to EU Poison Centers. The guideline is intended to help and clarify the obligations for all actors and to ensure their implementation. In addition, the harmonized Poison Center Notification (PCN) format was published at the end of April. The tool for generating a Unique Formula Identifier (UFI) is also already available.
If you have questions about the notification obligations, please contact Eva Kaiser.
The German ‘Institut für Arbeitsschutz der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung’ (IFA, Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance, DGUV) operates the Hazardous Substance Information System (GESTIS). This includes the so-called ‘substance database’. It summarizes specialist information and expert knowledge on roughly 9400 hazardous substances in a structured manner and thus represents a practice-oriented reference work for safe handling of hazardous substances at work. In March 2018, FoBiG was commissioned to continuously review the substance-related occupational-health and toxicological information over the next two years and if necessary to update or elaborate entirely new summaries. In the first processing phase, lithium and various lithium compounds will be prepared.
For further information, please contact Karin Heine.
We are looking to expand our scientific team and fill a permanent position in the field of toxicology. The job description and application details can be found in the job announcement.
On 9 March 2018 a stakeholder workshop takes place in Brussels on a project on behalf of the European Commission, DG Environment.
The project „Approaches and tools to support consumer exposure assessment under REACH” focus on the communication of information on consumer exposure under REACH. In their REACH dossiers registrants use information on substance properties and use conditions in order to demonstrate safe use of consumer products. This projects aims at improving how these data are communicated in the supply chain. FoBiG supports project partners The Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd. (RPA) in this project.
For further information, please contact Klaus Schneider.
FoBiG staff members Jan Oltmanns and Marie-Léonie Bohlen have published an article on a novel approach for the identification of potential emerging risks in the food chain together with colleagues from Fraunhofer ITEM, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) staff as well as their external experts. The article „Development of a novel scoring system for identifying emerging chemical risks in the food chain“ is included in the themed collection "Modeling in Environmental Chemistry“ of the journal „Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts". The paper is based on an EFSA-sponsored project performed between 2014 and 2016 (the final report is available here) and also discusses possible areas of application of the approach developed.
For further information, please contact Jan Oltmanns.
In the 50th edition of the Joint Ministerial Gazette (GMBl, Date: 30.11.2017), the occupational exposure limit values (OELs) revised by FoBiG on behalf of the DGUV have been published and are now legally valid in Germany. These OELs are used within the reciprocal calculation procedure (RCP) for the evaluation of hydrocarbon solvent mixtures. In addition, the last issue of 2017 of the journal „Gefahrstoffe - Reinhaltung der Luft“ (Air Quality Control) published the first part of a two-part publication on this topic. It describes how the new occupational exposure limits were derived.
In the 50th issue of the Joint Ministerial Gazette (GMBl, dated November 30, 2017), the occupational exposure limits revised by FoBiG on behalf of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), which are applied within the RCP concept (reciprocal calculation procedure) for the assessment of hydrocarbon mixtures, were published and have now become legally binding. In addition, the first part of a two-part publication on this topic was published in the final 2017 issue of the journal “Gefahrstoffe – Air Quality Control”. The article describes how the new occupational exposure limits were derived.
“The Times They Are A-Changin” (Bob Dylan)
At the end of 2017 we look back: On our 25th Anniversary Workshop in June – many thanks to
all of you, who celebrated together with us in Oberbergen – and on many exiting projects, e.g.
REACH registration and authorisation works, harmonised classification and labelling proposals,
assessment of rubber crumb in artificial turf, and the impact assessment on the Carcinogens and
Mutagens Directive 2004/37/EC, just to mention some.
2018 will bring an important change: Fritz Kalberlah, the founder of FoBiG, and Martin Hassauer
will retire and leave the company and the next generation will step in: Ulrike Schuhmacher-
Wolz, Karin Heine, Markus Schwarz and Eva Kaiser will become company partners. This is reason
enough to freeze that moment in a picture. So, no brainteaser this year, but possibly again
in 2018?
We wish you a well-deserved break, a relaxing Christmas holiday and a Happy New Year!
We are looking to expand our scientific team and fill a permanent position in the field of ecotoxicology or environmental sciences.
You can find the job description and application details in the job announcement.
The revision of the ECHA Guidance on PBT/vPvB Assessment published in June 2017 (Guidance on Information Requirements and Chemical Safety Assessment, Chapter R.11) introduces new screening criteria for the assessment of bioaccumulation in air-breathing terrestrial organisms, consisting of a combination of partition coefficients for octanol-water (Kow) and for octanol-air (Koa): log Kow > 2 und log Koa > 5. Log Koa is not an information requirement under the REACH Regulation and therefore has to be measured or estimated separately. Current work by FoBiG suggests that a considerable fraction of the substances registered under the REACH Regulation may fulfil the new screening criteria for bioaccumulation in air-breathing terrestrial organisms.
For further information please contact Jan Oltmanns.
In May 2017, Regulation (EU) 2017/542 was adopted amending the CLP Regulation by Annex VIII. The new regulation obliges importers and downstream-user to notify their hazardous mixtures to EU Poison Centres. Currently, a harmonised Poison Centres Notification (PCN) format and a Unique Formula Identifiers (UFI) is under development to make notification possible. The PCN format will be fully available at the beginning of 2018. The first deadline for notifications of hazardous mixtures for consumer use is 1st January 2020.
If you have any questions regarding your obligation for notification, contact us!