CLP classifications on the C&L Inventory

As part of the CLP Regulation, ECHA requires that everybody notifies the CLP classifications of any substance made or imported into the EU, in any quantity, to the Classification and Labelling Inventory (CLI).

This means that there is a repository of CLP classifications published by ECHA and available to view online at https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals/cl-inventory-database .

However, there are a number of problems with using a classification published on the CLI, including:

• no data available to view (unlike a REACH registration dossier), so you have to take the classification on trust (in effect, a notification to the C&L Inventory is an opinion)
• no information on who has made the notification, so you can’t tell who supports which classification
• often several differing classifications may be on offer – which one is correct?
• can the substance have impurities which might affect the classification and make it more severe

There is a factsheet on assessing the validity of CLP classifications on the CLI here: Is a CLI entry good quality.