CLP
Classification
Legislation
Examples
Calculator
Contact
Sign in
Physical Hazards Health Hazards Environmental Hazards
Generic cut-off values,
M-factor
Specific and Generic concentration limits Additivity and non-additivity of hazards Labelling
Acute toxicity Skin corrosion / Irritation Serious damage to eyes / Eye irritation Respiratory / Skin sensitisation Germ cell mutagenicity Carcinogenicity Reproductive toxicity Specific target organ toxicity - single exposure Specific target organ toxicity - repeated exposure Aspiration Endocrine disruption for human health
Hazardous to the aquatic environment Endocrine disruption for the environment PBT and vPvB PMT and vPvM Hazardous to the ozone layer
CLP
Classification
Legislation
Examples
Calculator
Contact
Sign in
×
Classification

Specific and Generic concentration limits

Specific concentration limits and generic concentration limits are limits assigned to a substance indicating a threshold at or above which the presence of that substance ... in a mixture ... leads to the classification of ... mixture as hazardous (CLP, Article 10(1)).

Generic concentration limit (GCL) is the minimum concentration of an ingredient (in case of non-additivity method) or sum of relevant ingredients (in case of additivity method) in a mixture, when mixture becomes classified.

Specific Concentration Limits (SCLs) apply to individual substance and are given in Table 3 of Annex VI to CLP. If mixture contains a substance at concentration above SCL for specific hazard the mixture becomes classified for this hazard.

Example 1
Example 2

Specific Concentration Limits have precedence over the Generic Concentration Limits (CLP, Article 10(6)).

In case if Additivity method is used to calculate the category of a hazard class of the mixture and at least one of ingredients influencing on such hazard has SCL(s) the following formula is applied (Guidance on the Application of the CLP Criteria, Version 5.0 July 2017, section 1.6.3.3.3):

Conc. A
ConcLimit. A
+
Conc. B
ConcLimit. B
+ ... +
Conc. Z
ConcLimit. Z
≥  1

where:

Conc. A, Conc. B ... Conc. Z - concentrations of substances A, B ... Z in the mixture,
ConcLimit. A, ConcLimit. B
... ConcLimit. Z
- concentration limit (specific or generic) for substances A, B ... Z.

The above formula is applied for calculation of the following hazard classes:

Skin corrosion/irritation (see examples 5 and 6   in section: Classification   Skin corrosion / Irritation)
Serious eye damage/eye irritation (see examples 6, 7 and 8   in section: Classification   Serious damage to eyes / Eye irritation)
Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure Category 3 (respiratory tract irritation (H335)) (see example 5   in section: Classification   Specific target organ toxicity - single exposure)
Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure Category 3 (narcotic effects (H336)).
Aspiration.

Where no ingredient of a mixture have SCLs for appropriate classification class the above formula is not applied. Then classification is based on GLCs from Annex I (CLP, Annex VI, 1.1.2.3).

Type of hazard Source
Acute toxicity Neither SCLs no GCLs are applicable.
Skin corrosion / Irritation Additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.2.3. 
Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.2.4. 
Serious damage to eyes / Eye irritation Additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.3.3. 
Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.3.4. 
Respiratory / skin sensitisation Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.4.5. 
Germ cell mutagenicity Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.5.2. 
Carcinogenicity Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.6.2. 
Reproductive toxicity Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.7.2. 
Specific target organ toxicity - single exposure (STOT-SE) Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.8.3. 
Additivity approach is applicable  
Specific target organ toxicity - repeated exposure (STOT-RE) Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.9.4. 
Aspiration Additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, section 3.10.3.3.1. 
Endocrine disruption for human health Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 3.11.2. 
Hazardous to the aquatic environment Neither SCLs no GCLs are applicable. M-factors concept is applied. 
Endocrine disruption for the environment Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 4.2.2. 
Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic or very Persistent, very Bioaccumulative Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, section 4.3.3.1. 
Persistent, Mobile and Toxic or very Persistent, very Mobile Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, section 4.4.3.1. 
Hazardous to the ozone layer Non-additivity approach is applicable - Annex I, Table 5.1.