EU Enforcement Authorities to Check Poison Centre Notifications

On 25 March 2024, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that enforcement authorities will check poison centre notifications (PCNs) of hazardous chemical mixtures in order to improve emergency preparedness. This initiative, agreed at the March meeting of ECHA’s Enforcement Forum, aims to ensure that suppliers are complying with the regulations requiring the notification of such substances.

Aim of the Checks

The main objective of these inspections is to protect human health by enforcing the obligation of chemical suppliers to inform national authorities about hazardous mixtures. This information is essential for poison centres to provide accurate advice in emergencies and to enable informed decisions by citizens and medical professionals.

Inspectors will verify the submission of notifications and examine mixture labels, along with Safety Data Sheets where necessary. The full scope of these inspections will be defined in the coming months.

Project Timeline

The inspections, scheduled to begin in January 2025 and run for six months, are designed to ensure that poison centres have accurate information for effective emergency response. A detailed report of the project's findings will be published by the end of 2025.

Background on the Enforcement Forum

The Enforcement Forum including its Biocides subgroup (BPRS), is a network of enforcement authorities from the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). They are responsible for coordinating the enforcement of the REACH, CLP, PIC, POPs and the Biocidal Product Regulations. The overall aim of these initiatives is to protect human health and the environment while ensuring a level playing field for companies across the EU market.