INTRODUCTION
1. ABOUT THE APPROVALS PROCESS
Regulations 27 to 29 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 provide for the approval of substances, products and processes used in the provision of public water supplies.
The Committee on Products and Processes
The Committee on Products and Processes for Use in Public Water Supply ( CPP) advises the Scottish Executive Drinking Water Quality Division on approval issues, as set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the United Kingdom Drinking Water Regulators (March 2005 - http://www.dwi.gov.uk/mou/mouukregulators.pdf).
Approvals issued by the Scottish Executive are recognised throughout the United Kingdom and in many other parts of the world.
The Committee is an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body. It consists of seven members with expertise in engineering, materials science, toxicology, chemical analysis, organic chemistry, water treatment and consumer relations. Details of the membership of the Committee are given in section 3. The Committee meets approximately every two to three months and the dates of Committee's meetings are posted on the CPP website: http://www.dwi.gov.uk/cpp/ccmeet.shtm.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate provides technical and administrative support to the Committee. The Committee's Technical Secretariat can be contacted at cpp@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Basis of approval.
When considering an application for approval, the Committee considers only whether the use of a substance or product will adversely affect the quality of water, or cause a risk to the health of consumers. The Committee does not assess fitness for purpose and approval by the Scottish Executive cannot be taken as a favourable assessment of the performance or technical merits of a product. The Committee cannot recommend approval of products that will not be placed on the United Kingdom market.
Applications are considered for all construction products used in contact with water in water treatment processes, water supply pipelines (including raw water pipelines) and drinking and raw water storage installations. In addition the Committee considers water treatment chemicals and filtration media which are not covered by a published BSEN standard; products (individual chemicals or filter media) that conform with a BSEN standard may be used without the approval of the Scottish Executive.
Approved products have not been assessed for suitability for use with regeneration chemicals.
For such use, specific testing after exposure to the appropriate aggressive chemicals should be undertaken.
A series of Advice Sheets gives an overview of the regulatory requirements and information that must be provided in support of applications. These advice sheets are available on the CPP website: http://www.dwi.gov.uk/cpp/guidance.shtm. Currently, the sheets available are:
- Overview of the application process
- Instructions for Use ( IFU) document
- Treatment chemicals, filter media & ion exchange resins
- Changes to Approved Products
- Approval of products made from recognised materials
- Approval of membrane filtration systems & associated equipment
- Construction products for water retaining structures in water collection, treatment and distribution systems
The Committee also publishes a series to test protocols for use in assessing the suitability of products for use with drinking (see the CPP website: http://www.dwi.gov.uk/cpp/guidance.shtm ). Currently, the protocols available are:
0. Designated Test Laboratory requirements
1. Reporting Requirements
2. Non-metallic products: General Method
3. Cement admixtures and concrete
4. Metallic products: general Method
5.1 Water Treatment Units - Reverse osmosis, nano and micro filtration membrane elements and systems
5.2 Water treatment Units - Electrodialysis modules
6. Filter Media and ion exchange resins
The Annual List of Approved Products
A list is published each year of all substances, products and processes for which approval has been granted, refused, revoked or modified, or for which their use has been prohibited. This document is posted on the Scottish Executive website: www.scotland.gov.uk.
Unconsolidated "Update" listings will be provided during 2006 on the DWI website: http//www.dwi.gov.uk/cpp/pagea.shtm, giving details of changes and additions to the List of Approved Products & Processes -Issue December 2005. These updates will be available about 4-6 weeks after each meeting of the CPP from the same website
2. Report for 2005
Committee Business
During 2005 the Committee met on five occasions and 105 applications for approval were considered, including 51 new applications. 53 products were approved, 2 products re-instated and none was refused approval. Approval was given to the modification of conditions to 5 currently listed products.
Communications with Scottish Water and approval holders
Scottish Executive communicates with Scottish Water and approval holders through Regulation and Information letters.
Three Regulation 27 letters were issued in 2005:
- 1/2005 introduced the 2004 list of approved products
- 2/2005 gave notice of intention to modify the conditions of approval to In-Situ coatings
- 3/2005 gave notice of the revocation of the approval of one product
Audit of approved products
A requirement for audit of approved products was introduced in July 2002 and the programme of auditing, which started in Autumn 2002, has continued throughout 2005. To date 252 products have been audited (73 in 2005) and 11 formerly approved products have been removed from the 2004 List of Approved products. Some products have been removed from the list because they are no longer available; in 4 cases, approval has been revoked because the product failed the audit tests or because the approval holder had failed to comply with a condition of approval. Full details of products removed and revoked from the 2004 List are given in Appendix 1 of this report.
European developments in treatment chemicals and construction products
The majority of chemicals and filter materials for drinking water treatment are now the subject of European standards. A full listing of the relevant standards published by BSi Standards in its BSEN series is contained in Appendices 1.6 and 1.7. Appendix 1.8 lists the European standards for testing the effects of organic materials on water intended for human consumption.
DWI provides the UK's regulatory representation on the European Commission's Expert Group - Construction Products Drinking Water. This Group is advising the Commission on the development of the European Acceptance Scheme ( EAS) for drinking water construction products. The EAS will hopefully provide harmonised arrangements throughout the European Union for testing and acceptance of drinking water construction products.
DWI has a number of initiatives underway preparing for the eventual transition from national to European requirements for testing and certification. These include:
- Meetings to disseminate information about the EAS and its implications for the UK (details of current activities are on our website: www.dwi.gov.uk/cpp/seminar.shtm).
- Research to assess the impact of European test requirements for the UK water industry and its suppliers (details of research outputs are posted on the Foundation for Water research website: www.fwr.org.uk).
- Where appropriate, early implementation of European test methods for some construction products.
Currently it is anticipated that the EAS will replace the testing and certification responsibilities of the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme ( WRAS) and the approval powers of the Government Authorities. In preparation for the EAS, WRAS and the Committee now use jointly designated test laboratories.
3. Membership of the Committee
The Committee was established as an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body in May 1998. All appointments to the Committee are made in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Public Appointments. The current membership as of December 2005 is:
Chairman:
Mr Owen Hydes OBE was nominated by the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is an independent consultant.
Members:
Mrs Joy Fraser is an independent member appointed to represent consumers' interests.
Dr John Greig was nominated by the British Toxicology Society as an expert in toxicology. He is an independent consultant.
Dr Roger Stokes was nominated by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining as an expert on construction products and materials used in the water industry. He is an independent consultant.
Mr Geoff Tute MBE was nominated by Water UK as an expert in civil engineering, water treatment and water operations. He is an employee of Southern Water.
Mr Robin Walls was nominated by the Royal Society of Chemistry as an expert in analytical chemistry and quality assurance. He is an independent consultant.
Mr Steve Scott was appointed after open competition for a specialist organic chemist. He is an independent consultant.
Advisers:
Mr John Ashworth is a civil servant in the Drinking Water Inspectorate and is nominated by Defra as an adviser on the Regulations, and implementing the CPP' s recommendations.
Mr Stephen Robjohns is a civil servant in the Department of Health and is nominated by that Department as an adviser on the effects of chemicals and materials on human health.
Technical Secretariat:
Ms Yamide Dagnet Sépho: Technical Secretary
The Technical Secretary is a civil servant employed by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
LIST OF APPROVED PRODUCTS
All approved products must be used in accordance with the specific conditions of approval, listed against the product names in Part I-IV. In addition, the following general conditions of approval apply to all approved products:
- That use is in accordance with an Instructions for Use document. Approval holders must provide Scottish Water with copies of the Instructions for Use Document that was considered by the Committee when approval was recommended.
- That the approval of the Government Authorities is obtained on condition that there shall be:
- no change in the formulation of the approved product, including change in source or identity of raw materials;
- no change in the manufacturing process, including location of manufacture;
- no change in designation of the approved product;
- no change in name or ownership of the organisation holding the approval.
- That the producer shall ensure that the product is tested for conformity with its formulation, and the source or identity of its raw materials, at such intervals and by such persons, as may be determined by Scottish Ministers. The results of such testing shall be sent to the Authorities.
- No Claim of "Approval by DWI" is permitted. For further information on acceptable claims , plase see the following website: http://www.dwi.gov.uk/cpp/pdf/FAQ2.pdf