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Dept of Health

Answer

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact upon (a) human and (b) animal health of the use of PVC chemicals in consumer products; what advice has been given to the public relating to their use; what restrictions have been placed on their use; and if he will make a statement. [119085] Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has provided advice to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on the health effects of phthalates, which may be present in PVC used in consumer products. It has not provided any advice on the effects on animal health, nor has it given any advice to the public. The safety of chemical products, such as those made from PVC, is governed by the Health and Safety Commission's Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002. These regulations require that manufacturers must assess a chemical product for its health effects. If dangerous, the product must be labelled with a warning symbol and phrases indicating the dangers. The particular chemical(s) which cause a product to be classified must be named on the label. The regulations also require that all potentially dangerous chemicals supplied to the public must be in packaging which is properly labelled and contains warnings about the potential hazards and giving advice on sensible precautions. Other regulations for protecting the consumer are the DTI's General Product Safety Regulations 1994(GPSR), which implement the EC General Product Safety Directive (92159/EEC) and apply to all consumer products (or aspects of those products) that are not covered by specific European safety legislation. The GPSR requires manufacturers to ensure that products present no risks or only minimum risk, compatible with the product's use. In other words, producers must first take steps to reduce the hazard as far as possible, then warn about any residual hazard(s) and give advice about the precautions that consumers should take when using the product.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

119085; 407 c715W;407 c719W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Consumers Animals Health hazards EU law Plastics Regulation Polyvinyl chloride

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk