HSA inspection campaign to focus on chemicals in consumer products

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has launched a nationwide inspection campaign targeted at discount and hardware stores. The aim is to ensure that hazardous chemical products for sale, to consumers and professionals, comply with the relevant EU chemical legislation, which is designed to improve chemical safety.

Inspectors from the HSA will also check for the presence of banned chemicals in jewellery, glues and adhesives. The chemicals cadmium, nickel and lead are banned in jewellery while benzene, chloroform and toluene are banned in glues and adhesives.

Inspections will focus on the following consumer products:

• Cleaning and laundry products
• Air fresheners and reed diffusers
• Paint products, e.g. thinners
• Jewellery
• Glues

The packaging of these products will also be checked to ensure child-resistant fastenings and tactile warnings of danger are included where required.

Kevin Buckley, Senior Inspector with the HSA said: “This campaign builds on and follows up on previous campaigns run by the Authority checking consumer products for compliance with EU chemical safety regulations. This year we will focus our inspections on discount stores and hardware stores. Specifically we will be checking the labelling information and also packaging to ensure that products which are required to have child resistant fastenings are compliant. We will also be checking jewellery and glues for the presence of banned substances.

This campaign is primarily aimed at retailers and consumers. However it is important that importers, manufacturers and distributors are aware of the legal requirements governing the safety of chemical products. Retailers selling such products should check with their suppliers to ensure that their existing stock is compliant, and all non-compliant stock should be removed from the shelves.”

Importers, distributors and retailers are also encouraged to check the weekly EU RAPEX alert system which identifies the list of goods found to be not compliant with EU requirements.

For more information on REACH restricted chemicals, visit the HSA website.