Version 2 of the AICIS categorisation guidelines coming on 24 April 2024

The Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines have been finalised after a review of stakeholder comments and will be released on 24 April.

We’d like to thank everyone that made a submission to our 2-part public consultation on amendments to the Guidelines. Stakeholders generally supported the original proposals. We discuss the most significant comments we received in our response to feedback on proposed changes to the Guidelines.

The amended Guidelines will be published on 24 April to coincide with the date that amendments to the General Rules will take effect, which also affect categorisation requirements.

How v2 will differ from the current Guidelines

Changes to the Guidelines will be consistent with the original proposals. You can read the full details in our past consultations from late 2023 and February. You can also see the full text of the changes in the final draft of the Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines (version 2). The amendment history in the Endnotes section at the end of this document details parts of the Guidelines where changes have been made and the nature of the changes.

In summary, the changes include:

• refinement of the requirement to check for hazardous esters and salts of chemicals on the ‘List of chemicals with high hazards for categorisation’ (the List)
• provision to include highly hazardous chemicals to the List based on an AICIS assessment or evaluation
• expanded options for introducers to demonstrate the absence of skin irritation and skin sensitisation
• more models for in silico predictions and an added test guideline for ready biodegradability.

Another update of the Guidelines coming 24 September 2024

A second update of the Guidelines will be published in September due to industry stakeholders’ feedback that they need more time to prepare for some of the changes. It will contain these changes:

• For the ‘List of chemicals with high hazards for categorisation’ (the List): add chemicals based on current sources and add the ‘European commission Endocrine Disruptor List (List I) as a source.
• Refined requirements for introducers to show the absence of specific target organ toxicity after repeated exposure and bioaccumulation potential.

Important documents and information you should read

View our response to the consultation feedback on the Guidelines, which include details about changes beginning in April or September. 

Read the final draft of the Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines version 2 that will take effect on 24 April 2024.

Learn more and stay informed 

We’ll update our website on 24 April to reflect all the changes to categorisation, reporting and report-keeping requirements.

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