Commission Directive 2009/84/EC of 28 July 2009 amending Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council to include sulfuryl fluoride as an active substance in Annex I thereto (Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market⁽¹⁾, and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 16(2) thereof,

Whereas:

1. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007 of 4 December 2007 on the second phase of the 10-year work programme referred to in Article 16(2) of Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market⁽²⁾ establishes a list of active substances to be assessed, with a view to their possible inclusion in Annex I, IA or IB to Directive 98/8/EC. That list includes sulfuryl fluoride.

2. Commission Directive 2006/140/EC⁽³⁾ included sulfuryl fluoride as an active substance in Annex I to Directive 98/8/EC for use in product-type 8, wood preservatives, as defined in Annex V to Directive 98/8/EC.

3. Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007, sulfuryl fluoride has now been evaluated in accordance with Article 11(2) of Directive 98/8/EC for use in product-type 18, insecticides, as defined in Annex V to that Directive.

4. Sweden was designated as Rapporteur Member State and submitted the competent authority report, together with a recommendation, to the Commission on 19 June 2007 in accordance with Article 14(4) and (6) of Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007.

5. The competent authority report was reviewed by the Member States and the Commission. In accordance with Article 15(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007, the findings of the review were incorporated, within the Standing Committee on Biocidal Products on 20 February 2009, in an assessment report.

6. It appears from the examinations made that biocidal products used as insecticides and containing sulfuryl fluoride may be expected to satisfy the requirements laid down in Article 5 of Directive 98/8/EC. It is therefore appropriate to include sulfuryl fluoride in Annex I, in order to ensure that in all Member States authorisations for biocidal products used as insecticides and containing sulfuryl fluoride can be granted, modified, or cancelled in accordance with Article 16(3) of Directive 98/8/EC.

7. In the light of the conclusions of the assessment report, it is appropriate to require that products containing sulfuryl fluoride and used as insecticides be authorised only for use by trained professionals in accordance with Article 10(2)(i)(e) of Directive 98/8/EC, and that specific risk mitigation measures are applied at product authorisation level to ensure the safety of operators and of bystanders.

8. In addition, it is appropriate to require continuous monitoring of sulfuryl fluoride in remote tropospheric air and to require results of such monitoring to be regularly reported to the Commission.

9. It is important that the provisions of this Directive be applied simultaneously in all the Member States in order to ensure equal treatment of biocidal products on the market containing the active substance sulfuryl fluoride and also to facilitate the proper operation of the biocidal products market in general.

10. A reasonable period should be allowed to elapse before an active substance is included in Annex I in order to permit Member States and the interested parties to prepare themselves to meet the new requirements entailed and to ensure that applicants who have prepared dossiers can benefit fully from the 10-year period of data protection, which, in accordance with Article 12(1)(c)(ii) of Directive 98/8/EC, starts from the date of inclusion.

11. After inclusion, Member States should be allowed a reasonable period to implement Article 16(3) of Directive 98/8/EC, and in particular, to grant, modify or cancel authorisations of biocidal products in product-type 18 containing sulfuryl fluoride to ensure that they comply with Directive 98/8/EC.

12. Directive 98/8/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

13. The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Biocidal Products,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: