Biocidal products update

Dr Michelle Whelan from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine – Pesticides Control Division provides an overview of regulatory requirements for hardware retailers and builders merchants selling biocidal products, including rodenticides.

Biocidal products were first regulated in Ireland in 2001. Products are notified to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to receive a PCS No. which allows them to be sold and used in Ireland. Over time, products are required to be authorised to stay on the market following a scientific assessment, and this has significant impacts for the retail trade as well as end users of biocidal products. Authorised products receive an IE/BPA No. from DAFM, and these products may have restrictions to their sale and use.

The renewal of the anticoagulant rodenticide (AVK) product authorisations this year will have a big impact on retailers and endusers. Retailers are reminded of their obligations to;

1. Check status of approval
2. Only sell to competent people
3. Keep records.

This article seeks to clarify these obligations.

1. Check status of approval

It has been a legal requirement since 2001 that all biocidal products require an approval with DAFM to allow the products to be sold and used in Ireland. Prior to retailers purchasing biocidal products, it is important to check that the product is listed on the DAFM biocidal product notification register and authorisation register with the status ‘notified’ or ‘authorised’. http://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/registers/biocidalproductregisters/

The approval number (PCS No or IE/BPA No respectively) listed on the register must be printed on the product label. As the biocidal product register is regularly updated a periodic check of the register is required to check products continue to be approved for sale and use in Ireland and have not been “revoked”.

For revoked products, the date of revocation and the appropriate sell-out and use-up timelines are available to check on the DAFM biocidal product register. All AVK products that were on the Irish market in 2017 will be revoked this year and it is important that the sell-out times are adhered to. An easy way to check for new AVK products is by checking the approval number; all new AVK products will have an approval number greater than IE/BPA 70504, AVK products with a lower number will be revoked in 2018.

Another important change to AVK products occurred on the 1st March 2018. These substances were re-classified at EU level and because of this, products containing 0.005%w/w active substance need to be relabelled. All amateur products containing ≥0.003%w/w active became illegal on the 1st March 2018.

Please ensure all AVK products with 0.005%w/w active are removed from sale immediately and professional and trained professional AVK products contain the new labels. This can be checked by looking for the new classification ‘H360D’: ‘May damage the unborn child’ on the product label.

2. Only sell to competent people

There are several user categories depending on the type of biocidal products (i.e. general public, professional, trained professional and industrial user). Product labels indicate which user category can purchase and use the product. General public products can be purchased and used by any category of user as they do not require personal protective equipment (PPE). Professional, trained professional and industrial products should only be sold to people suitably qualified to use the products. There is a legal requirement under the authorisation of the AVK products, to only sell product to the category of user stated on the label. Proof of competence is required at point of sale and records must be kept. Proof is provided by means of a number. Professional users must provide a herd, flock, HFR or HPR number at the point of sale. Trained professional users must provide a PMU No at the point of sale, this number can be checked on the DAFM website and proof of name should be requested if required. http://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/registers/pestmanagementtrainedprofessionaluserspmusregister.

Please note that continuous professional education (CPE) is required to maintain PMU Numbers. The PMU register will be updated each year to reflect this and users may lose their registration and their ability to purchase Trained Professional AVK product. Any queries on this can be referred to DAFM.

3. Record keeping

As of the 1st January 2018, any company supplying professional and trained professional use AVK rodenticides must keep records of both goods in and goods out. This is a requirement under the renewal of the AVKs. Records detailed in the table below must be kept for a period of five years and made available on request to an authorised officer of DAFM for audit.

There is no record keeping requirement for biocidal products approved for general public sale.

Dr. Michelle Whelan
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine – Pesticides Control Division

If you require further information, please refer to the DAFM website. http://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/biocides/changestouseofanticoagulantrodenticides/

This Business Support article featured in the May/June 2018 edition of The Hardware Journal.