Granting of licenses
The flooring installation product classified with an EMICODE® has to comply with the classification criteria as issued by the Technical Council of the GEV:
- In general, an EMICODE® labelled product is solvent free. Solvents in this meaning are defined as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) with a boiling point < 200°C under normal conditions (20°C, 1013 hPa). As an exemption for technical needs, only products for the surface treatment of parquet, mineral floors and resilient floor coverings may contain solvents as film building agent.
- A safety data sheet is prepared for all licensed products, provided that there is an obligation to do so under local law. It is recommended to state the EMICODE®-classification in the technical data sheet, e.g. “EMICODE EC 1 – very low emission”.
- Substances included under the REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) in accordance with art. 57 in the list established under REACH art. 59(1) (the so-called “Candidate List”) must not be actively used in EMICODE® products1.
- Substances that have been identified under REACH as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (“CMR substances” of categories 1A and 1B) shall not be actively used.1 Emissions of all volatile organic carcinogenic substances of categories 1A and 1B must remain below a total limit value of 10 μg/m3 after 3 days and an individual limit value of 1 μg/m3 after 28 days.
- Products which are classified in categories 1, 2 or 3 according to European Hazardous Substances Regulation with regard to acute toxic properties (CLP: Part 3: 3.1 acute toxicity) are excluded from the EMICODE®.
- Methyl Ethyl Ketoxim (MEKO) and Methyl Isobutyl Ketoxim (MIBKO) as well as Acetone oxime must not be added or released during curing for reasons of occupational safety and odour.
1 For details and exceptions, see “GEV Classification Criteria”
- Required tests have to be carried out according to the defined “GEV testing method” and have to be performed by a laboratory that masters the defined “GEV test method” and whose accreditation according to ISO 17025 covers the tests according to the GEV test method or EN 16516. The documentation of test results is operated by the producer according to intra-company rules. A list of recommended laboratories is published here.
- Products of the same mixture (preparation) but different trademark (article name) require an EMICODE® license for each article but only one emission test. In this case the license is granted based on the test of the previously tested and EMICODE® licensed product.
- Changes to the mixture or alterations that have no relevance in terms of emissions do not require another test.
- Classification into EMICODE® classes is carried out according to the product group after compliance with all requirements of the following tables. The appropriate EMICODE® class shall be used for product labelling.
Granting of licenses
A product to be classified according to EMICODE® shall fulfil the fowolling criteria, established by the Technical Advisory Council in the „GEV Classification Criteria“:
- EMICODE®-labelled products are always solvent-free. Exceptions are surface treatment products for wooden floors as well as lacquers, impregnation agents and oils for mineral floors as well as lacquers for resilient floor coverings which, for technical reasons, may contain solvents as film-forming agent. If products in Germany are assigned to a GISCODE product group, this must be stated.
- Products that have been classified in categories 1, 2 or 3 according to European Hazardous Substances Regulations on account of acute toxic properties (CLP: Part 3: 3.1 Acute Toxicity) are excluded from the EMICODE® classification system.
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