Biocidal Products Directive Impact

Directive 98/8/EC, the so-called Biocidal Products Directive (BPD) was integrated into each Member State National legislation for May 14th 2000. Within the Annexes of this directive several biocidal product types are identified that are relevant either directly or indirectly to mineral processing or to the use of mineral slurries. This legislation will have an increasingly significant impact on the active substance producers, the biocidal product formulators and the end-user industries they serve. Some of the more important consequences/issues for the industry include ... 

The basis and likely impact of this Directive have been described. Apart from some very brief comments, there has been no specific reference to surfactants. This is because the Directive covers any chemical that falls within the scope as described and whilst this will include many surfactants, it also includes many other types. Having said this, there is no reason to suppose that surfactants will fare better than any other class of chemicals. Also, as indicated at the beginning, this chapter describes the situation in autumn 2004 when much of the impact due to the transitional measures is still to be realised. This Directive is considered by many to be over the top control for this group of products. However, this is an inevitable consequence of biocidal products also being known as pesticides. Only time will tell whether this Directive will actually improve or increase the levels of risk to humans, animals or the environment. 

In terms of sustainability, there are several direct and indirect impacts to be considered and it is advisable to use the tools classically available in environmental impact assessment. In this regard were highlighted the concern in relation to the possible leaching of products used in biocide treatment and the problems associated with one of the popular choices in terms of interventions which is the use of a sacrificial layer that would imply the impacts associated with the preparation of the replacement mortars (such as periodic consumption of resources and CO2 emissions). The sustainability analyses needs to consider the balance between periodicity of applications and the effects of more permanent solutions. In general there is scarce reflection on the sustainability implications of these procedures for conservation of materials. 

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