(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 4,5-Dichloro-2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one.

(2)

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007, 4,5-Dichloro-2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one has been evaluated in accordance with Article 11(2) of Directive 98/8/EC for use in product-type 8, wood preservatives, as defined in Annex V to that Directive.

(3)

Norway was designated as Rapporteur and submitted the competent authority report, together with a recommendation, to the Commission on 8 September 2008 in accordance with Article 14(4) and (6) of Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007.

(4)

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 16 December 2010, in an assessment report.

(5)

It appears from the evaluations that biocidal products used as wood preservatives and containing 4,5-Dichloro-2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one may be expected to satisfy the requirements laid down in Article 5 of Directive 98/8/EC. It is therefore appropriate to include 4,5-Dichloro-2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one in Annex I to that Directive.

(6)

Not all potential uses have been evaluated at Union level. It is therefore appropriate that Member States assess those uses or exposure scenarios and those risks to human populations and to environmental compartments that have not been representatively addressed in the Union level risk assessment and, when granting product authorisations, ensure that appropriate measures are taken or specific conditions imposed in order to reduce the identified risks to acceptable levels.

(7)

In view of the risks identified for human health, it is appropriate to require that safe operational procedures are established for products authorised for industrial or professional use, and that those products are used with appropriate personal protective equipment unless it can be demonstrated in the application for product authorisation that risks to industrial or professional users can be reduced to an acceptable level by other means.

(8)

In view of the risks identified for the aquatic and terrestrial compartments, it is appropriate to require that freshly treated timber is stored after treatment under shelter or on impermeable hard standing, or both, and that any losses from the application of products used as wood preservatives and containing 4,5-Dichloro-2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one are collected for reuse or disposal.

(9)

Unacceptable risks for the environment were identified in various scenarios for in-service use of treated wood not covered and not in contact with the ground, which is either continually exposed to the weather or protected from the weather but subject to frequent wetting (use class 3 as defined by OECD (3)) and wood in contact with fresh water (use class 4b as defined by OECD (4)). It is therefore appropriate to require that products are not authorised for the treatment of wood intended for those uses, unless data is submitted demonstrating that the product will meet the requirements of both Article 5 of and Annex VI to Directive 98/8/EC, if necessary by the application of appropriate risk mitigation measures.

(10)

It is important that the provisions of this Directive be applied simultaneously in all Member States in order to ensure equal treatment of biocidal products on the market containing the active substance 4,5-Dichloro-2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one and also to facilitate the proper operation of the biocidal products market in general.

(11)

A reasonable period should be allowed to elapse before an active substance is included in Annex I to Directive 98/8/EC in order to permit Member States and 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.

(12)

After inclusion, Member States should be allowed a reasonable period to implement Article 16(3) of Directive 98/8/EC.

(13)

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

(14)

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