A  number of products are grouped together under the name  « biocidal products ». These include active substances, intended to destroy, repel or render inoffensive so called « noxious » products, to prevent them from being active or to combat them by chemical or biological means. 23 different types of biocidal products are to be found, separated into four main categories :

• General disinfectants and biocidal products (biocidal products destined for human and veterinary hygiene, products for disinfecting surfaces or premises)
• Protective products (products for treating wood, products for disinfecting air-cooling towers)
• Anti-parasite products (household insecticides, repellents, or rodenticides)
• Other biocidal products (products for embalming or taxidermy).

At present, are all biocidal products subject to authorisation ?

Most biocidal products on the market today are not covered by any authorisation procedure for their commercialization. In fact, the purpose of the system set up by directive n° 98/8/EC dated February of 26^th 1998 is to correct this situation and to limit commercialization of biocidal products whose efficiency and risks have been assessed.

What makes up the « biocide » system ?

Community directive n° 98/8/EC has instituted an authorisation procedure for commercializing biocidal products on European territory. Only products whose efficiency has been proven and which present no unacceptable risks for man, animal life or environment may be sold in the future. Measures aim more especially at preventing long-term effects  : effects that are carcinogenic, toxic for reproduction capabilities and effects of toxic substances that are persistent or which can be bio-accumulated.

This procedure is broken down into two stages :

• initially, active biocide substances are evaluated in the context of a community work programme. This evaluation ends up by including, or not, these activite substances in the community lists of authorised active substance.  The European commission plans for evaluation of identified and notified active biocide substances (present on the  EC  market on May 14^th 2000) to be finished by May 2010.
• then, only products containing active substances that appear in the community may, after investigation, obtain authorisation for national commercialization (Market Commercialization). Also, a procedure is programmed for recognizing authorisations issued by other member states.

The purpose of the directive is also to harmonise regulations amongst member states of the European Union, highlly variable up until present, on the use of these products and to guarantee the market's uniqueness.