Regulatory Compliance > CHIP 4

The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for supply) Regulations (CHIP) have been in force in the UK since 1993, with many amendments over the years. The most recent major recasting (CHIP 4) of the regulations took place in 2009. CHIP implements various European Directives relating to provision of hazard information about chemical substances and preparations. Some of the Directives enacted by CHIP have been repealed by REACH (e.g. safety data sheets directive). The provisions of the repealed Directives are carried over into REACH.

The Directive underpinning the CHIP Regulations (67/548/EEC) has been amended by Directive 2006/121/EC to adapt it to the REACH Regulation. More information on CHIP is available from http://www.hse.gov.uk/chip/index.htm. Directive 67/548/EEC will be replaced by Regulation (EC)2008/1272 (CLP 2008), which implements the Globally Harmonised System in the EU. CLP 2008 and its amendment, Regulation 790/2009, entered into force in January 2009. There are two target dates for applying the rules of CLP: 1st December 2010 for substances and 1st June 2015 for mixtures. Directive 67/548/EEC will be repealed from 1st June 2015. More information on CLP is available from http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/chemicals/classification/index_en.htm. The CHIP regulations will gradually be replaced by the CLP Regulation

Classification and labelling that has been agreed within the EU is listed in the Annexes of CLP 2008 and its amendment. If a substance is not listed in the Annexes, the supplier must propose a suitable classification based on the known properties.

Requirements for classification and labelling, and packaging design are all set through CHIP. All suppliers of chemicals, i.e. manufacturers and importers, distributors and retailers, must comply with the regulations. Safety data sheets are no longer covered by the CHIP regulations, but have been transferred to REACH.

The competent authority responsible for CHIP is the Health and Safety Executive. One significant requirement of CHIP 4 with respect to environmental issues is the need for preparations to be properly classified and labelled for the environment.

Certain chemical types (medicines, cosmetics) have specific regulations and are not covered by CHIP or CLP. However, plant protection products and biocides are required to comply with the legislation, in addition to the specialist requirements.

Separate regulations exist for the transport sector, with specialist requirements governing transport by road, rail, air and sea. General information on transport regulations can be found on the HSE website's Carriage of dangerous goods topic: http://www.hse.gov.uk/cdg/index.htm.

For more information about classification and labelling under CHIP 4, click here.

Images:
Paul Quinton
Brad Mering