Home Office rethink on GBL and BDO

Home Office reevaluate GBL and BDO

By Ciara Dempsey, Regulatory Affairs Manager

Gamma butyrolactone (GBL) is an industrial solvent used in some printing inks and other specialist coatings. The printing inks are used in a wide variety of applications, including security cards, medical devices and automotive parts.

On 15th December 2021, a legislative proposal was laid before Parliament to strengthen controls on these substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act. These controls included a strict licensing regime for legitimate industrial uses. While the BCF supported the move to control the substance more effectively, it became clear that there were significant unintended consequences as a result of this change. It meant that the new licensing requirements would not only affect our members (who were using the substance to manufacture printing inks or other coatings) but also extend to their customers who were using the printing inks or mixtures containing GBL. The BCF and other associations advocated for the Government to change the rules to put printing inks and other industrial mixtures containing GBL outside of the scope of the licence requirement.

The Home Office’s own impact assessment had drastically underestimated the number of companies that would have been affected by the legislation. In addition, there was a very short transition period which meant that companies had very little time to not only apply for a licence, but also to put in place the increased security and monitoring processes in place. For many companies, the timeline also fell drastically short of the time required to develop, validate, and introduce new products that were GBL-free.

The Home Office listened to industry, and in March this year informed us that they were looking at ways to mitigate the impact of the legislation. In the end, they decided to go back to the drawing board and new legislation is expected in 2023. The government intends to retain the requirement for companies handling ‘neat’ GBL to obtain a licence. However, the intention is to put the majority of legitimate uses of mixtures outside the scope. The BCF is supportive of this approach, and we have been liaising with the Home Office and the relevant members on some of the finer details. These informal discussions are vital to informing and influencing the government at this early stage, prior to the formal public consultation that is due to take place (timing currently unclear). It is crucial that the legislation strikes the right balance between allowing legitimate industrial uses to continue, without creating loopholes that could be exploited by criminals. This has formed the basis of the BCF’s advocacy on this issue, and will continue to do so.