Safety Data Sheets & Emergency Numbers

It is obligatory to include a poisons centre emergency number in Section 1.4 of the SDS for a chemical mixture placed on the market if it is classified as hazardous on the basis of its health or physical effects (REACH Annex II) . It is permitted to include (in addition) an external emergency number, as appropriate.

The National Poisons Information Centre of Ireland (NPIC) charges an annual retainer for use of it’s telephone number on the SDS of chemical products placed on the market in Ireland. The annual retainer is €650 per company (or €200 if notifying less than 10 products).

The following steps must be completed before you can use the NPIC telephone number in this manner:

1. Notify the chemical mixtures to the NPIC via the ECHA PCN portal. Click here to access the portal.

2. Complete and sign an Agreement & Indemnity and email it to the NPIC to countersign (email to chemicalsinfo@beaumont.ie).

3. If you have notified your products through the ECHA PCN Portal you should also email to the NPIC a list of the products/mixtures notified and their UFIs.

4. The NPIC will return a countersigned copy of the Agreement & Indemnity and details of the telephone number to use on the SDS. Please note you should state that our emergency phone number is available from 8am – 10pm every day.

5. Beaumont Hospital will issue an invoice for the annual retainer 2-3 weeks after the Agreement & Indemnity has been completed and signed by both parties.

  • If all your mixtures are biocides or plant protection products you must still comply with steps 1-4 above. You will not however have to pay the annual retainer, as this is already included in the registration fee paid to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
  • Failure to pay the annual retainer within 3 months of the invoice date each year will nullify the Agreement & Indemnity.
  • Where there is a delay in updating the SDS with the NPIC emergency number after the notification process is complete, the company needs to ensure that the additional emergency number, currently listed in section 1.4, continues to operate effectively in English. If there are any limitations to its use, this should be clearly stated in the SDS, until such time as the SDS is updated with the NPIC number.
  • When placing hazardous chemical products on the market in other EU Member States, the respective poisons centre/appointed body number, where established, must be included in Section 1.4 of the SDS. Further information is available on the ECHA website under the National Helpdesk contact details. The poisons centre number in one EU Member State may not be used for other Member States.