Environmental hazards of the product
Level: Core
It is important to avoid the distribution of environmentally hazardous substances in the environment. The core criterion excludes environmentally hazardous products.
Details
- Type:
- Technical specification
- ID:
- 10582
- Group:
- Chemical products
- Swedish:
Criterion text
The product shall not be classified with the following hazard classifications and hazard statements in accordance with Regulation (EC) No.1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP regulation), neither in EU-harmonised classification (in accordance with appendix VI in the CLP-regulation), nor in self-classification.
Classification in accordance with the CLP regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 |
|
Hazard classification |
Hazard statement |
Hazardous to aquatic life - acute effects (category 1) |
H400 |
Hazardous to aquatic life - long lasting effects (category 1-4) |
H410, H411, H412, H413 |
Exceptions:
-
Peracetic acid (CAS No. 79-21-0) in products used for professional laundry
- Products classified as environmentally hazardous with only hazard statement H400 are exempted under the following conditions:
The product is part of a closed system1 and
The product is diluted to a concentration below the classification limit for H400 at the time of use.
1Closed system here refers to a system where a highly concentrated product is automatically dosed to avoid the user coming in contact with the product.
Verification
The supplier shall, upon request, be able to present any of for example the following:
- Valid license for any of for example the following labels:
Good Environmeltal Choice for chemical products, version 2018:1
Nordic Ecolabelling for:
Cleaning products, version 6
Hand dish washing detergents, version 6
Dishwasher detergents for professional use, version 2 or version 3
Laundry detergents for professional use, version 3
Car and boat care products, version 5 or car, boat and train care products, version 6
Dish washer detergents and rinsing agents, version 6
Laundry detergents and stain removers, version 7 or version 8
EU Ecolabel for:
Hard surface cleaning products, 2017
Detergents for dishwashers, 2017
Industrial and institutional automatic dishwasher detergents, 2017
Hand dishwashing detergents, 2017
Laundry detergents, 2017
Industrial and institutional laundry detergents, 2017
- The product's safety data sheet, showing that the product is not classified with the above classifications
- The supplier’s self-declaration including technical documentation of compliance verified by an accredited verification body, accredited for the task in accordance with ISO/IEC 17029 or equivalent standard.
Proposed follow-up
If the requirement is verified with a label, check that there is a valid license for the product in question. This can be controlled here: Nordic Ecolabelling (Swan), Good Environmental Choice and EU Ecolabel.
This requirement can be verified with safety data sheet for the product. See section 2 “Hazard(s) identification” in the safety data sheet, the hazardous properties of the product are listed here. Check that none of the specified hazard classes / hazard statements in the requirement are listed here.
If the requirement has been verified with a self-declaration verified by an accredited body, request the company's self-declaration including technical documentation of compliance that has been verified by an accredited verification body, accredited for the task in accordance with ISO/IEC 17029.
Information about the criterion
This requirement can be verified with the product’s safety data sheet. More information on this can be found under “follow-up”.
Self-classification of ingredient substances is covered by this requirement.
There are currently no accredited verification bodies according to ISO / IEC 17029 (Conformity assessment - General principles and requirements for validation and verification bodies), as it is a relatively new standard. However, this may change, especially if the demand for verifying compliance in this way increases. This possibility is therefore included in the list of possible verifications. More information about the standard is available at www.swedac.se.
Environmental goals
Motive
Products classified as environmentally hazardous may cause negative impact on the external environment in the event of exposure. It is therefore justified to set requirements on the products not to be classified as environmentally hazardous.
There is reason to note the risk of products being diluted in order to avoid labelling them as environmentally hazardous, which instead increases the environmental load due to increased transportation volumes. The exemption regarding products labelled as environmentally hazardous with hazard statement H400 has been added with the intention to allow more concentrated products and avoid unnecessarily diluted products. This also allows applications such as peracetic acid for professional cleaning when cleaning at lower temperatures is possible. H400-classified products do not necessarily constitute an environmental hazard, provided that the products are diluted or degraded before they reach the waste water treatment plants.
The reason for the exemption for peracetic acid in that it is classified with H400. Peracetic acid is sometimes used for professional laundry. It works at lowewed water temperatures.
Versions history
The version date indicates when the sustainability criterion was created or last updated. Last reviewed dated tells when we last checked that the sustainability criterion still is relevant.
- Current ID
- 10582
- Version date
- 2014-06-16
- Review date
- 2019-05-03