European Chemicals Bureau

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The European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) was the focal point for the data and assessment procedure on dangerous chemicals within the European Union. In 2008 the ECB ended. Some of its activities were taken over by the European Chemicals Agency, ECHA; others remained within the Joint Research Council's "Institute for Health & Consumer Protection", IHCP.^[1] The ECB was located in Ispra, Italy. It was under the responsibility of the Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission.

Contents 1 Mission 2 Biocides 3 Existing Chemicals 4 New Chemicals 5 ESIS: European chemical Substances Information System 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Mission

The mission of the ECB was to provide scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies related to dangerous chemicals. It co-ordinateed the EU risk assessment programmes that covered the risks posed by existing substances and new substances to workers, consumers and the environment. It supported the legal classification and labeling, the notification of new substances, the information exchange on import and export of dangerous substances, the development and harmonization of testing methods and the authorization of biocides.

[edit] Biocides

The Biocides Work Area provided scientific and technical support for the approval of active substances in biocidal products as laid down in Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market.

[edit] Existing Chemicals

The Existing Chemicals Work Area provided technical and scientific support to the Commission concerning the data collection, priority setting, and risk assessment steps of Council Regulation (EEC) 793/93.

[edit] New Chemicals

The principal function of the New Chemicals work area were:

• Co-ordination of EU notification scheme and risk assessment for new chemical substances (Directive 67/548/EEC including Annexes VII and VIII, Directive 93/67/EEC).
• Management of the New Chemicals Database (NCD) maintained in a security area with authorised access only.
• Preparation of European LIst of Notified Chemical Substances (ELINCS).
• Supervision of Technical and Scientific Meetings (TSMs) and Working Group Meetings allowing Member State Competent Authorities to discuss issues arising related to implementation of Directives.

[edit] ESIS: European chemical Substances Information System

ESIS is an IT System that provides information on chemicals in the following lists:

• EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Commercial chemical Substances)
• ELINCS (European List of Notified Chemical Substances) in support of Directive 92/32/EEC, the 7th amendment to Directive 67/548/EEC
• NLP (No-Longer Polymers)
• PBT (Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic) or vPvB (very Persistent and very Bioaccumulative)
• BPD (Biocidal Products Directive) active substances listed on Annex I or IA of Directive 98/8/EC
• HPVCs (High Production Volume Chemicals) and LPVCs (Low Production Volume Chemicals), including EU Producers/Importers lists
• C&L (Classification and Labelling), substances or preparations in accordance with Directive 67/548/EEC (substances) and 1999/45/EC (preparations)
• IUCLID Chemical Data Sheets, IUCLID Export Files, OECD-IUCLID Export Files, EUSES Export Files
• Priority Lists, Risk Assessment process and tracking system in relation to Council Regulation (EEC) 793/93 also known as Existing Substances Regulation (ESR)

[edit] See also

• REACH
• IUCLID

[edit] References

1. ^ European Chemicals Bureau Newsletter (2008, special edition), http://ecb.jrc.it/newsletter/newsletter200802.pdf 

[edit] External links

• Ex-ECB The official website is still available.
  • Biocides
  • Classification & Labelling
  • Computational Toxicology
  • Existing Chemicals
  • Export-Import Control
  • New Chemicals
  • Test Methods
• ESIS (European chemical Substances Information System)