First European public consultation on a biocidal active launched

Consultation on the first biocidal active, dinotefuran, under Article 10 of the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) is not open until 28th January 2014. It is proposed to be used in biocidal products of product-type 18 (insecticides, acaricides and products to control other arthropods). During the approval process of an active substance, the evaluating Competent Authority will assess whether the substance meets the criteria, and is thereby a potential candidate for substitution. The Competent Authority will then report this information in the conclusions of their evaluation. In such cases, ECHA will initiate a public consultation during which third parties can submit relevant information, including information on available alternatives. When an active substance is a candidate for substitution, biocidal products containing that active substance will become subject to a comparative assessment at the time of authorisation and will only be authorised if there are no better alternatives. When a public consultation is launched, a new entry will appear in the dedicated ECHA web page. Third parties will have 60 days to submit information using the templates provided. When the consultation period is over, ECHA will process the information received. The Agency will take account of the information when finalising the opinion on dinotefuran in the Biocidal Products Committee.