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Independently classify water-polluting chemical substances

Service Description

If you or your company operate a facility in which chemical substances hazardous to water are handled, you are obliged to independently assess all chemical substances that you use in your facilities and

  • into one of the water hazard classes (WGK)
  • or as not hazardous to water.

You must then document this classification and submit it to the Federal Environment Agency.

Chemical substances can be a hazard to water bodies. They must therefore be classified in water hazard classes according to their hazardousness:

  • WGK 1: slightly hazardous to water (for example acetic acid, caustic soda, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide)
  • WGK 2: clearly hazardous to water (e.g. heating oil, sodium hypochlorite, iodine)
  • WGK 3: highly hazardous to water (e.g. waste oil, chlorinated hydrocarbons, benzene)

In addition, substances can also be classified as

  • nwg: not hazardous to water, and
  • awg: generally hazardous to water (e.g. liquid manure, fermentation substrates or certain solid mixtures such as waste)

classified.

You are exempt from this obligation if

  • you use chemical substances whose hazardousness has already been assessed and the corresponding classification has been published in the Federal Gazette or
  • you consider the chemical substances to be highly hazardous to water (WGK 3) regardless of their hazardousness or
  • you use chemical substances whose classification as not hazardous to water or as generally hazardous to water is already specified by the Ordinance on Installations for Handling Substances Hazardous to Water (e.g. foodstuffs or liquid manure, slurry and silage).

If you later become aware of scientific findings that lead to a change in the published classification, you are obliged to document this immediately in writing to the Federal Environment Agency.

Process flow

You can submit the classification in water hazard classes by e-mail or in writing by post.

Note: Before you classify and document a new chemical substance, please check the Rigoletto substance database of the Federal Environment Agency to see whether the substance has already been published with a classification (individually or through a group classification).

Submit the classification by e-mail or in writing:

  • Go to the website of the Federal Environment Agency or call up the online database Rigoletto. Download the "Documentation form 1":
  • You can fill out the documentation form directly on your computer or print it out and edit it by hand.
  • Sign the documentation form and send it to the Federal Environment Agency either by post or by e-mail.
  • The Federal Environment Agency will check whether your classification documentation is complete and plausible. Freely available substance information is also used for this purpose. In addition, the Federal Environment Agency may take random samples from the documentation, for which you must submit the classification bases and test reports.
  • If questions arise during the assessment that cannot be answered from the documents, the Federal Environment Agency will contact you.
  • The Federal Environment Agency will make the final classification decision. It will send you the decision in writing by post and by e-mail.
  • The Federal Environment Agency publishes the legally binding classification in the Federal Gazette and in the online database Rigoletto.

Requirements

Your company operates a facility in which chemical substances or groups of substances are used or stored.

Which documents are required?

  • Chemically unique substance name
  • International CAS number or European EC number for chemical substances
  • Hazard statements
  • Documentation of test results

What are the fees?

Emission: free of charge
There are no costs.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

Consultation Period: 2 - 4 Weeks
You do not have to observe any deadlines for submitting the classification documentation. In the event of queries, you will be given a period of 2 to 4 weeks to respond during the hearing procedure.

Processing duration

Processing Time: 1 - 3 Months
The processing of your classification documentation takes about 3 months until the decision is issued. However, if there is a hearing procedure for the classification, this period may be extended.

Legal basis

Applications / forms

  • Appeal. Detailed information on how to lodge an objection can be found in the notification.
  • Administrative court action

Appeal

Forms: yes

Written form required: yes

Informal application possible: no

Personal appearance necessary: no

Online services available: yes

What else should I know?

There are no indications or special features.

Further Information

Author

Forwarding service: Deep link to the original portal

Federal Environment Agency (UBA)

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection

Professionally released on

06.08.2021

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6PLus)

Start your request directly online:

Competent Authority

Umweltbundesamt Fachgebiet IV 2.6 Wassergefährdende Stoffe

Address
Wörlitzer Platz 1
06844 Dessau-Roßlau, Stadt
Fax
+49 340 21044270
E-Mail
Contact us
WWW
Federal Environment Agency
Opening times

We usually answer your questions about the self-classification of substances into water hazard classes in writing. Please use the mailbox wgk@uba.de . In exceptional cases, please contact the head of department.