Strasbourg, 19/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - To protect the health and safety of building workers and other users, building materials containing hazardous substances should now have to be clearly labelled. That is the aim of the new regulation on the marketing of construction products in the EU, which received second reading approval in the European Parliament on Tuesday 18 January, on the basis of the report by Catherine Stihler (S&D, UK).
Following pressure from MEPs, the “declaration of performance” required for every construction product under the new rules will have to include information on hazardous substances, as required by the 2006 REACH Regulation, so as to meet health and safety standards and make the contents clear to all users. It will be for the Commission to draw up a report on the information needed on these substances, taking account of requirements for recycling or re-use. If appropriate, it will follow up the report with new draft legislation within two years. The new legislation allows that micro-companies will be able opt for new, simplified performance assessment procedures for their products, provided these goods still comply with EU harmonised standards. Member states will be required to designate Product Contact Points to provide information on construction products and their uses free of charge. To avoid conflicts of interest, Product Contact Points are to be impartial with regard to the process of obtaining CE-marking. The text makes provision for construction products manufactured in a traditional manner or in a manner appropriate to heritage conservation and in a non-industrial process to be exempted from the “declaration of performance” rule.
The regulation will come into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal, but, many of its provisions will apply only from 1 July 2013, to give companies time to adjust. (E.H./transl.rt)