The Biocidal Products Directive (BPD) also known as the Biocides Directive is

European Union Directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires member states to achieve particular goals without dictating how the member states achieve those goals. A directive's goals have to be made the goals of one or more new or changed n ...

, (98/8/EC), which concerns

biocides A biocide is defined in the European legislation as a chemical substance or microorganism intended to destroy, deter, render harmless, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism. The US United States Environmental Protection Agency, En ...

. It is officially known as Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market."Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market"
European Parliament & Council, 16 February 1998. Retrieved 7 April 2015 In 2013 the Biocidal Products Directive was superseded by The Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR, Regulation (EU) 528/2012).

Definition

Biocide is defined in Article 2(1)(a) as "active substances and preparations containing one or more active substances, put up in the form in which they are supplied to the user, intended to destroy, deter, render harmless, prevent the action of, or otherwise exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by chemical or biological means." A biocidal product is a substance intending to destroy, deter, render harmless, prevent the action of, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by any means other than mere physical or mechanical action. These products are highly regulated because of health and performance concerns. They first have to be legally regulated, and all products or substances on the market also have to be tested and certified in order to ensure their compliance with current directives and regulations. The definition and the identification of the biocidal products, including their classifications, are crucial because they form the bases of the guidance documents and these also allow the systematic and easier association with the appropriate governing framework. For instance, those substances classified in the directive as cosmetics products immediately fall within the coverage of the Cosmetics Products Regulation 1223/2009.

EU biocides regulation

Biocidal products and active substances fall into four categories and twenty-three product-types that are all regulated by the EU under the Biocidal Products Directive. The substances have to be authorised before being used or sold on the EU market. Also, all treated products shall only contain authorised active substances. To be authorised, manufacturers or importers need to submit technical documentation on the products. The

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

created and regularly updates the Biocidal Products Directive to ensure a high level of protection of human and animal health, as well as environmental protection. A proposal (COM(2009)267) was put forward to repeal and replace the Directive 98/8/EC and it was adopted on June 12, 2009, by the European Commission. This proposed measure builds on the principles of the older directive, with the aim of improving "the functioning of the internal market in biocidal products while maintaining a high level of environmental and human health protection."

Classification

The biocides are classified in Annex V: Main group 1:

Disinfectants A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than ...

and general biocidal products * Product-type 1: Human hygiene biocidal products * Product-type 2: Private area and public health area disinfectants and other biocidal products * Product-type 3:

Veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

hygiene biocidal products * Product-type 4: Food and feed area disinfectants * Product-type 5:

Drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

disinfectants Main group 2: Preservatives * Product-type 6: In-can preservatives * Product-type 7: Film preservatives * Product-type 8: Wood preservatives * Product-type 9: Fibre, leather, rubber and polymerised materials preservatives * Product-type 10: Masonry preservatives * Product-type 11: Preservatives for liquid-cooling and processing systems * Product-type 12:

Slimicide Slimicide (or antislime agent) is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial pesticide used to kill Biofilm, slime-producing microorganisms such as algae, bacteria, fungi, and slime molds. One primary application domain is in the papermaking industry, where ...

s * Product-type 13: Metalworking-fluid preservatives Main group 3: Pest control * Product-type 14:

Rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Some rodenticides ...

s * Product-type 15:

Avicide An avicide is any substance (normally a chemical) used to kill birds. Commonly used avicides include strychnine (also used as rodenticide and predacide), DRC-1339 (3-chloro-4-methylaniline hydrochloride, Starlicide) and CPTH (3-chloro-p-toluidi ...

s * Product-type 16:

Molluscicide Molluscicides () are chemicals that kill molluscs. They are also known as snail baits, snail pellets, or slug pellets. These pesticides against molluscs are usually used in agriculture or gardening, in order to control Pest (organism)#Gastropods, ...

s * Product-type 17:

Piscicide A piscicide is a chemical substance which is poisonous to fish. The primary use for piscicides is to eliminate a dominant species of fish in a body of water, as the first step in attempting to populate the body of water with a different fish. They ...

s * Product-type 18:

Insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

acaricide Acaricides are pesticides that kill members of the arachnid subclass '' Acari'', which includes ticks and mites. Acaricides are used both in medicine and agriculture, although the desired selective toxicity differs between the two fields. Termi ...

s and products to control other

arthropods Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

* Product-type 19: Repellents and attractants Main group 4: Other biocidal products * Product-type 20: Preservatives for food or

feedstock A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials/Intermediate goods that are feedstock for future finishe ...

s * Product-type 21:

Antifouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

products * Product-type 22:

Embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them with embalming chemicals in modern times to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for viewing as part of the funeral ceremony or ...

and

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...

fluids * Product-type 23: Control of other vertebrates

References

{{reflist

External links

"The Biocidal Products Regulations (BPR)"
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) European Union directives 1998 in law 1998 in the European Union