(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 Annexes I, IA or IB to Directive 98/8/EC. That list includes cyclohexylhydroxydiazene 1-oxide, potassium salt (K-HDO).

(2)

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007, K-HDO 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 Directive 98/8/EC.

(3)

Austria was designated as Rapporteur Member State and submitted the competent authority report, together with a recommendation, to the Commission on 22 March 2006 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 22 February 2008, in an assessment report.

(5)

Although the risk assessment was limited to very specific application systems, it appears from the examinations made that biocidal products used as wood preservatives and containing K-HDO may be expected to satisfy the requirements laid down in Article 5 of Directive 98/8/EC. It is therefore appropriate to include K-HDO in Annex I, in order to ensure that in all Member States authorisations for biocidal products used as wood preservatives and containing K-HDO can be granted, modified or cancelled in accordance with Article 16(3) of Directive 98/8/EC.

(6)

Not all potential uses have been evaluated at the Community level. It is therefore appropriate that Member States pay particular attention to the risks to the compartments and populations that have not been representatively addressed in the Community level risk assessment and, when granting product authorisations, ensure that appropriate measures are taken or specific conditions imposed in order to mitigate the identified risks to acceptable levels.

(7)

In particular, in view of the possible risks for the environment and workers, authorisations for products to be used in other systems than industrial, fully automated and closed ones should not be granted unless the application for product authorisation demonstrates that risks can be reduced to acceptable levels in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 98/8/EC and Annex VI thereto.

(8)

In the light of the findings of the assessment report, it is appropriate to require that products containing K-HDO be used with appropriate protective equipment. In view of the risks identified for infants, it is also appropriate to require that K-HDO not be used for the treatment of wood that may come in direct contact with infants.

(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 K-HDO 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 8 containing K-HDO 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,