HORGEN, Switzerland – Dow Microbial Control, a business group of The Dow Chemical Co. (Dow), announced that after five years of evaluation following the most stringent and demanding risk assessment methodology, its active substance DCOIT (4,5-Dichloro-2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one) has been recommended by the EU Competent Authority for approval and inclusion into the Annex I of the Biocidal Products Directive for Product Type 21: antifouling products.

In the European Union, DCOIT has been supported by Dow Microbial Control under the Biocidal Products Directive 98/8/EC. In 2002, Dow Microbial Control notified DCOIT in Product Type 21, and by February 2006 a complete dossier was submitted for the evaluation to its designated Rapporteur Member State: Norway.

Last December, the Rapporteur Member State completed the Risk Assessment and issued a draft Assessment Report, also called BPD draft Competent Authority Report. This report recommends the approval of the active substance and its inclusion in the Annex I of the Biocidal Products Directive. A summary version is now available on the external Web site of the European Commission.

The next steps of the evaluation will be the peer review of the draft “Competent Authority Report” by the other EU Member States during Technical meetings and Competent Authority meetings, which will take place in 2011 and 2012.

“The fact that DCOIT is the first existing active substance used in Product Type 21 for which a positive recommendation for Annex I inclusion is issued reinforces our confidence in the safety of SEA-NINETM antifouling agent,” said Lynette Santiago, Global Marketing Manager, Marine Antifouling for Dow Microbial Control.

DCOIT has been used safely around the world as an active substance in antifouling products under the trademark SEA-NINETM since the early 1990s.