Search Legislation

Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products (Text with EEA relevance)

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Close

This is a legislation item that originated from the EU

After exit day there will be three versions of this legislation to consult for different purposes. The legislation.gov.uk version is the version that applies in the UK. The EU Version currently on EUR-lex is the version that currently applies in the EU i.e you may need this if you operate a business in the EU.

The web archive version is the official version of this legislation item as it stood on exit day before being published to legislation.gov.uk and any subsequent UK changes and effects applied. The web archive also captured associated case law and other language formats from EUR-Lex.

Changes to legislation:

There are outstanding changes not yet made to Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Any changes that have already been made to the legislation appear in the content and are referenced with annotations. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.

View outstanding changes

Changes and effects yet to be applied to Article 19:

Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole legislation item and associated provisions

Article 19U.K.Conditions for granting an authorisation

1.A biocidal product other than those eligible for the simplified authorisation procedure in accordance with Article 25 shall be authorised provided the following conditions are met:

[F1(a) the active substances are included in Annex I or approved for the relevant product-type and any conditions specified for those active substances are met;]

(b)it is established, according to the common principles for the evaluation of dossiers for biocidal products laid down in Annex VI, that the biocidal product, when used as authorised and having regard to the factors referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, fulfils the following criteria:

(i)

the biocidal product is sufficiently effective;

(ii)

the biocidal product has no unacceptable effects on the target organisms, in particular unacceptable resistance or cross-resistance or unnecessary suffering and pain for vertebrates;

(iii)

the biocidal product has no immediate or delayed unacceptable effects itself, or as a result of its residues, on the health of humans, including that of vulnerable groups, or animals, directly or through drinking water, food, feed, air, or through other indirect effects;

(iv)

the biocidal product has no unacceptable effects itself, or as a result of its residues, on the environment, having particular regard to the following considerations:

  • the fate and distribution of the biocidal product in the environment,

  • contamination of surface waters (including estuarial and seawater), groundwater and drinking water, air and soil, taking into account locations distant from its use following long-range environmental transportation,

  • the impact of the biocidal product on non-target organisms,

  • the impact of the biocidal product on biodiversity and the ecosystem;

(c)the chemical identity, quantity and technical equivalence of active substances in the biocidal product and, where appropriate, any toxicologically or ecotoxicologically significant and relevant impurities and non-active substances, and its residues of toxicological or environmental significance, which result from uses to be authorised, can be determined according to the relevant requirements in Annexes II and III;

(d)the physical and chemical properties of the biocidal product have been determined and deemed acceptable for the purposes of the appropriate use and transport of the product;

[F1(e) where appropriate, maximum residue limits for food and feed have been established with respect to active substances contained in a biocidal product in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 (1) , Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) , Regulation (EC) No 470/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) or Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) , or specific migration limits or limits for the residual content in food contact materials have been established with respect to such active substances in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) ;]

(f)where nanomaterials are used in that product, the risk to human health, animal health and the environment has been assessed separately.

2.The evaluation of whether a biocidal product fulfils the criteria set out in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall take into account the following factors:

(a)realistic worst case conditions under which the biocidal product may be used;

(b)the way in which treated articles treated with the biocidal product or containing the biocidal product may be used;

(c)the consequences of use and disposal of the biocidal product;

(d)cumulative effects;

(e)synergistic effects.

3.A biocidal product shall only be authorised for uses for which relevant information has been submitted in accordance with Article 20.

4.A biocidal product shall not be authorised for making available on the market for use by the general public where:

(a)it meets the criteria according to Directive 1999/45/EC for classification as:

  • (a)toxic or very toxic,

  • a category 1 or 2 carcinogen,

  • a category 1 or 2 mutagen, or

  • toxic for reproduction category 1 or 2;

[F1(b) it meets the criteria according to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 for classification as:

  • [F1(b) acute oral toxicity category 1, 2 or 3,

  • acute dermal toxicity category 1, 2 or 3,

  • acute inhalation toxicity (gases and dust/mist) category 1, 2 or 3,

  • acute inhalation toxicity (vapours) category 1 or 2,

  • specific target organ toxicity by single or repeated exposure category 1,

  • a category 1A or 1B carcinogen,

  • a category 1A or 1B mutagen, or

  • toxic for reproduction category 1A or 1B;

(c) it consists of, contains or generates, a substance that meets the criteria for being PBT or vPvB in accordance with Annex XIII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006;]

(d)it has endocrine-disrupting properties; or

(e)it has developmental neurotoxic or immunotoxic effects.

5.Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 4, a biocidal product may be authorised when the conditions laid down in paragraph 1(b)(iii) and (iv) are not fully met, or may be authorised for making available on the market for use by the general public when the criteria referred to in paragraph 4(c) are met, where not authorising the biocidal product would result in disproportionate negative impacts for society when compared to the risks to human health, animal health or the environment arising from the use of the biocidal product under the conditions laid down in the authorisation.

The use of a biocidal product authorised pursuant to this paragraph shall be subject to appropriate risk mitigation measures to ensure that exposure of humans and the environment to that biocidal product is minimised. The use of a biocidal product authorised pursuant to this paragraph shall be restricted to Member States in which the condition of the first subparagraph is met.

[F16. The assessment of the biocidal product family conducted according to the common principles set out in Annex VI shall consider the maximum risks to human health, animal health and the environment and the minimum level of efficacy over the whole potential range of products within the biocidal product family.

A biocidal product family shall be authorised only if:

(a) the application explicitly identifies the maximum risks to human health, animal health and the environment, and the minimum level of efficacy, on which the assessment is based, as well as the permitted variations in composition and uses referred to in point (s) of Article 3(1) together with their respective classification, hazard and precautionary statements and any appropriate risk mitigation measures; and

(b) it can be established based on the assessment referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph that all the biocidal products within the family comply with the conditions set out in paragraph 1.

7. Where appropriate, the prospective authorisation holder or its representative shall apply for the establishment of maximum residue limits with respect to active substances contained in a biocidal product in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 315/93, Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, Regulation (EC) No 470/2009 or Directive 2002/32/EC, or for the establishment of specific migration limits or limits for the residual content in food contact materials with respect to such substances in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004.]

8.Where, for active substances covered by Article 10(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 470/2009, no maximum residue limit has been established in accordance with Article 9 of that Regulation at the time of the approval of the active substance, or where a limit established in accordance with Article 9 of that Regulation needs to be amended, the maximum residue limit shall be established or amended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 10(1)(b) of that Regulation.

9.Where a biocidal product is intended for direct application to the external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs), or to the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, it shall not contain any non-active substance that may not be included in a cosmetic product pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.

(1)

[F1Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food ( OJ L 37, 13.2.1993, p. 1 ).]

(2)

[F1Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC ( OJ L 70, 16.3.2005, p. 1 ).]

(3)

[F1Regulation (EC) No 470/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 laying down Community procedures for the establishment of residue limits of pharmacologically active substances in foodstuffs of animal origin, repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 and amending Directive 2001/82/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( OJ L 152, 16.6.2009, p. 11 ).]

(4)

[F1Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed ( OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 10 ).]

(5)

[F1Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food and repealing Directives 80/590/EEC and 89/109/EEC ( OJ L 338, 13.11.2004, p. 4 ).]

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open the Whole Regulation

The Whole Regulation you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open Schedules only

The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the EU Official Journal
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.

The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.

For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources