EU

EU Regulation No 649/2012 Concerning the Export and Import of Hazardous Chemicals (PIC)

Little Pro on 2017-03-09

If you think that you can freely export your chemicals from EU or import them to EU in a compliant way when you have registered your substances under REACH and prepared compliant SDSs and labels in accordance with CLP regulation (GHS), you are wrong. You also need to comply Regulation (EU) No 649/2012 concerning the export and import of hazardous chemicals (also known as PIC regulation). For certain hazardous chemicals (even if they are registered or <1t/y exempt from REACH registration), you must inform the responsible authorities of importing countries and sometimes must get their explicit consent before you can export them. In this article, we will show you how to comply with this regulation.

What Is PIC Regulation?

The  EU Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation regulates the import and export of hazardous chemicals between the EU and third countries, and implements the global Rotterdam Convention within the European Union. The goal is to protect human health and the environment against potentially harmful impacts from certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides. It facilitates the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals and contributes to environmentally sound use of these chemicals by promoting shared responsibilities. 

Chemicals Subject to PIC Notification and Obligations

Chemicals subject to PIC are listed in the 2 annexes of the PIC regulation (Annex I and Annex V). Companies who export them outside of EU and who export them to EU have different obligations. 

Annex Exporting Chemicals to Outside of EU

Annex I

Chemicals subject to export notification. (Part 2 & 3: explicit consent from importing country required). Part 3 is equivalent to the Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention

Example: Benzene, ethylene oxide

Exports of all substances, mixtures, or articles that contain one or more chemicals subject to PIC must be notified in advance.

Exporter can submit an export notification to the designated national authority of the Member State in which the company is established 35 days before export.

ECHA collects notifications from the Member States and sends them to the responsible authorities of an importing country.

Annex V

Chemicals which are subject to an export ban. (Part 1: POPs, Part 2: Non-POPs).

Example: Endosulfan, DDT

These chemicals can only be exported outside of EU in quantities below 10kg and exclusively for research and analysis purposes. 

Note: Non-EU countries that have ratified the Rotterdam Convention usually have their own PIC regulation (for example, China). If you export chemicals to the EU, you have to comply with local PIC regulation and notify the intention of your export to the national authority of your own country if your chemicals are subject to the control of local PIC regulation.

How to Search the Annex I and V of the PIC Regulation

You can search the annex I and V as well as part no. by clicking here. Once you have finished searching, you can export the search results to excel format (.csv). The picture below shows you the user interface for searching chemicals subject to PIC.

EU PIC Regulation Annex I

How to Prepare An Export Notification

The Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 649/2012 has listed detailed information required for making an export notification. Some of those info include:

  • Identity of substances or mixtures or articles exported;
  • Information on the export (destination country, estimated amount, expected data of first export, intended use if known, etc.);
  • Designated national authorities of both exporting/importing country;
  • Precautions and safety advice for substance handling;
  • Summary on physico-chemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological properties.

PIC notification can be submitted via ECHA's ePIC tool.

References and More Reading

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 Tags: Topics - EUControlled Chemicals Trade