Change in the law: It has come to an end

An amendment to the Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance in January of this year brings changes for sailors. The new Ordinance on Prohibitions and Restrictions on the Marketing and Supply of Certain Substances, Mixtures and Articles, as the somewhat unwieldy name suggests, regulates the sale of chemicals, including substances contained in paints and fillers that could previously simply be bought in DIY stores or ordered online. This particularly affects mail order, which is now no longer permitted for some paints and fillers.

According to the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the amendment to the Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance (ChemVerbotsV) was passed by the German government on 20 January 2017 and came into force a week later. The most significant changes are that sellers of affected products must have an official licence to sell them, the chemicals may no longer be freely accessible on the shelf and may no longer be sent by post.

The regulation relates to products with certain GHS hazardous substance labels (GHS: Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals), including GHS6 with the pictogram of the skull and crossbones and GHS8 with the depiction of an upper body radiating from the inside. However, not all products with these pictograms are affected by the new regulation, as there are so-called hazard statements in addition to the GHS hazardous substance labelling. Recently, products according to GHS8 with the hazard statements H370 and H372 have also been added. These hazard statements stand for chemicals that can cause possible organ damage (H370) and possible organ damage with prolonged or repeated exposure (H372). These chemicals include styrene and white spirit, which are contained in polyester putties and some paints.

Vosschemie, a manufacturer of paints and levelling compounds, is one of the companies affected. The head of the Deco and Yachts division, Andreas Lutzer, says: "It was clear that the new Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance was coming, but we didn't expect there to be no transition period. When the new GHS hazardous substance labelling was issued as part of the CLP Regulation (CLP: Classification, Labelling, Packaging), there was a transitional period of two years." With the new regulation without this deadline, all paints and fillers with the hazard labels H370 and H372 suddenly had to be removed from the shelves on 27 January. Although the products can still be sold, an employee with a special certificate of competence is required at the DIY store or supplier. However, no one has yet been able to obtain this certificate because the legislator has not yet issued a catalogue of questions for the test, says Lutzer. This is why Vosschemie is currently working flat out on a new product series with levelling compounds, repair gelcoats and paints without styrene and white spirit. These will be available from April.

The new Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance is particularly aimed at consumer protection. In addition to sailing enthusiasts, hobby gardeners are also affected, as some fertilisers are also covered by the new regulation. However, this is not about their harmful effects on health, but about the danger that terrorists could use them to make explosives.

Read the text of the new regulation online