ECHA Publishes Guidance on Drinking Water Directive
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published guidance documents that support the implementation of the European positive lists under the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) (EU) 2020/2184. The guidance documents are available in four volumes:
- Volume I: Guidance on methodologies for testing starting substances, compositions and constituents for use in the manufacture of materials or products in contact with water intended for human consumption
- Volume II: Guidance on methodologies for accepting starting substances, compositions and constituents for use in the manufacture of materials or products in contact with water intended for human consumption
- Volume III: Guidance on the scope of DWD
- Volume IV: Guidance on DWD contents of a notification of intention
As background, on April 23, 2024, the European Union published new minimum hygiene requirements for materials and products that come into contact with drinking water. These consisted of three Implementing Decisions and three Delegated Regulations. The Implementing Decisions laid down rules for the application of the DWD, namely, establishment of a Positive List of starting substances, compositions and constituents authorized for use in materials that come into contact with drinking water (Decision (EU) 2024/367), methodologies for testing and accepting substances, compositions and constituents to be included in the European Positive Lists (Decision (EU) 2024/365), and establishment of procedures and methods for testing and accepting final materials as used in products that come into contact with drinking water (Decision (EU) 2024/368). (For more information on these Implementing Decisions and on the three Delegated Regulations that supplemented the DWD, see the Packaginglaw.com article, New EU Hygiene Requirements for Materials in Contact with Drinking Water Published.
More information about ECHA’s guidance documents, including how to submit applications, can be found in the recordings and presentation of the Agency’s recent webinar, Looking towards the future of drinking water applications.