By The Zagosa Team. Published .
Reviewed or updated .
The Biocidal Product Regulations 2008 (BPR) are a set of European Union rules brought in to strengthen the Biocidal Products Regulation first enacted in 2004. They introduced a new approval system that simplifies how biocidal products get to market. A product that meets the BPR criteria can be registered straightforwardly, with no need to go through a full approval process. Products that fall short of the requirements have to go through approval instead.
It helps to understand what sets a biocide apart from the other chemicals we meet in industry or daily life, because people can be exposed to biocides indirectly without realising it. Biocides are chemicals that can kill living organisms, whereas most other chemicals are not harmful to living things. Biocides are suited to a number of applications:
Biocidal products cover both biocidal substances and biostatic products. Biocidal substances are compounds, or mixtures of compounds, that under normal conditions kill microorganisms, plants or animals, or stop them growing. Biostatic agents do not kill microorganisms but slow their reproduction. Biocides have limited toxicity for humans as well.
There is a distinction between organic and non-organic biocidal product regulations. Organic BPR covers products with biocidal substances that are biodegradable and do not persist in the environment. Non-organic BPR covers products where the biocides are non-biodegradable and persistent.
Non-organic biocide products carry a higher risk profile, because they are more likely to harm people, animals or plants if misused. BPR aims to keep those risks to a minimum by making all manufacturers register their products, so end users can see what is available on the market. Manufacturers have to meet the BPR conformity criteria before their biocides can be sold.
At heart, the BPR is about making sure biocides on the market meet certain standards, and keeping those that do not off the shelves. Manufacturers must also provide information on how consumers can handle biocidal products safely. Anyone using or thinking of using biocide products should understand what information GB BPR requires.
Approval process: under GB BPR there are two routes. A simplified system lets biocides be registered without an approval process, while the full route requires products to go through the Biocidal Product Approval Process.
Conformity assessment: all biocides must meet the conformity criteria before they are allowed on the market, and manufacturers have to make sure of that.
The GB BPR sets out general safety conformity requirements that apply to every biocidal product, whichever system is used and whether it comes under the simplified or full route. All GB BPR declared substances in biostatic biocides must also meet biostatic product safety requirements, which are the same for biostatics and biocides.