What is CLP?
“CLP” is short for a very long EU Regulation, both in its title and its content! Its full name is:
Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.
The Regulation first published in the Official Journal of the European Union contained 1,355 pages, and numerous Adaptations to Technical Progress (ATPs) updating the legal text have since been published. Like REACH, as an EU Regulation CLP applies directly in all 28 Member States of the EU and also in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as members of the European Economic Area (EEA).
CLP is the successor to the Dangerous Substances and Dangerous Preparations Directives; like these Directives, CLP requires chemicals to be classified for their hazards and labelled accordingly.
CLP was introduced to put into place a new EU-wide scheme for classification, labelling and packaging hazardous chemicals appropriately before placing them on the market. For many years the EU had a robust system based on the Directives dealing with substances and mixtures. In other parts of the World there were other schemes – or nothing at all. After many years of international negotiations, a “globally harmonised” scheme (GHS) was developed and published by the UN. The EU was the first major jurisdiction to amend its old scheme in favour of one based on the GHS. In doing so, however, it retained some important elements of the old system to avoid any loss of protection in the EU.
Following Brexit, CLP was retained in GB (Great Britain) law. In order for CLP to operate fully and effectively in Great Britain, the EU CLP Regulation was amended and retained as the GB CLP Regulations. The changes are set out in:
The Chemicals (Health and Safety) and Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 No. 720 as amended by The Chemicals (Health and Safety) and Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
REACHReady is here to help. We suggest you start by reading our CLP Basics webpage and FAQs. For our Gold subscribers help is also at hand through more comprehensive online resources and of course our Helpdesk. If you are yet to sign up, you might like to see a preview of some of our CLP resources for Gold subscribers.
Brexit FAQs - To support companies in planning for the UK’s exit, REACHReady together with the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) have identified a number of frequently asked questions focussing on REACH, Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) and Biocidal Product (BPR) Regulation. For all Gold subscribers, REACHReady will continue to answer any specific questions you may have on Brexit and chemicals regulation through the helpdesk.