Sweden to probe for toxic chemicals in products

Sweden is to increase its inspection of products to reduce risks from endocrine-disrupting substances and chemical combination affects, the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI) confirmed on Thursday.

Launching a national action plan for 2011-14, KemI said it would be focusing its efforts on children because they are a vulnerable risk group. It will also push for changes to EU legislation to increase the substitution of hazardous chemicals by companies.

Sweden will continue to lead in proposing new EU bans and restrictions in the EU's REACH chemicals regulation. KemI also stressed that public knowledge of chemicals on the REACH candidate list http://www.endseurope.com/25639?referrer=bulletin&DCMP=EMC-ENDS-EUROPE-DAILY needs to be increased. Buyers and consumers need to be more aware of chemical hazards, it said.

The government will allocate special funds for increased investment in chemicals research, particularly in the field of environmental risks. The Board of Agriculture will assess the impact of a national limit for cadmium in minerals used for fertilizer. Sweden will also promote a strict EU limit on cadmium in fertilizers.

Follow-up:

Swedish Chemicals Agency press release http://www.kemi.se/templates/News____6537.aspx and action plan (in Swedish)

http://www.kemi.se/upload/Om_kemi/Docs/Regeringsuppdrag/Handlingsplan-Giftfri-vardag.pdf.

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