RICHARD J. ROY, LISA D.M. ALLEN*
*Corresponding author
REACHReady Ltd, Kings Buildings, Smith Square, London SW1P 3JJ, United Kingdom

Abstract

The new Regulation on biocides – The Biocidal Products Regulation – entered into force on 1 September 2013, its provisions impacting upon all levels of the supply chain as well as users. With over a year of experience of the new Regulation, companies are beginning to feel the unintended impact of many of the provisions, with the work required and costs involved leading to withdrawal from the market. The outcome of this may not only be an impact on consumers, but also, and more significantly, upon resistance in target organisms. As biocides become more ubiquitous in society, such resistance could lead to public health issues and product failure.

INTRODUCTION

Biocides play a key role in our society by ensuring a high standard of health and hygiene, improving the quality of industrial processes and maintaining the integrity of products and articles. They act by exerting a controlling effect on harmful organisms and therefore will often carry hazards which also create a risk to human health. For this reason, and due to the potential impact their uncontrolled use could create on resistance and on non-target organisms, biocides are subject to a significant degree of regulatory control. It was in May 2000 that the Biocidal Products Directive (BPD)(1) entered into force and one year ago, on 1 September 2013, that this was repealed and replaced by the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)(2).

The Regulation was proposed with the intention of building on the principles laid down in the BPD whilst maintaining a high level of protection of human health and the environment, but also improving the functioning of the internal market for biocides. So, one year on, to what extent is the BPR and the additional requirements introduced achieving this objective, and what impact is it having on the industry in ...