It's all to do with this bit of EU regulation: Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) which was adopted in December 2006. It addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment i.e. if it contains a substance on that's on the REACH restricted list it's a problem. IMR introduced a range of REACH compliant pistol and shotgun powders the tail end of last year.