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Miljøstyrelsens Kemikalieinspektion - årsberetning 2000
The Chemical Inspection Service is in charge of Danish EPA supervision of legislation
regulating chemicals in Denmark: the Act on Chemical Substances and Products, 37
ministerial orders, regulations and circulars, issued in pursuance of the Act.
High priority areas of the Chemical Inspection Service are:
guidelines on chemicals regulation
compliance enforcement in areas of significance to environment and health
control of import from third countries
control of products subject to other rules in Denmark than in other EU member states
control of toxic substances and products
national inspection collaboration
international inspection collaboration
Inspection of cosmetic products and toys has also been a major task in 2000. Inspection
of cosmetics was targeted especially towards mercury soaps, acrylic nail care products and
V6 chewing gum.
In 2000 the Danish EPA chemicals hotline Call Service operated by the Inspection
Service answered 2256 calls, well over 300 calls more than in 1999. The calls come mostly
from enterprises and private persons seeking information on chemicals legislation and on
health aspects relating to chemical products.
The Chemical Inspection Service received 228 enforcement reports, focussing
particularly on consumer products, and as was also the case in 1999, the reports were
about cosmetic products (almost 30%). The majority of reports in 2000 (more than 35%) was
about classification and labelling of chemical substances and products.
241 report cases were completed in 2000. 14 cases, seven of which were about
pesticides, were handed over to public prosecution.
After findings of the mercury-containing soap Niuma on the Danish market, the Chemical
Inspection Service paid a number of inspection visits to selected shops in Copenhagen.
During the visits, which were made in March and November 2000, the Chemical Inspection
Service identified eight new soaps containing mercury. The soaps, which were notified in
the EU, were: Tura, Mekako, Rico, Soap Tonight, Jaribu, Roberts Medicated Soap, Top
Germicidal Soap, and Movate Germicidal Soap. Prolonged use of the soaps may cause damage
to the skin, and mercury iodide may be absorbed in the body and cause damage to the brain
and kidneys.
In 2000, the chemical inspection authorities in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and
Denmark joined efforts in a formal group under the Nordic Chemicals Group under the
auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Norway hosted a Nordic meeting in Oslo on
September 14-15 2000. The inspection activities of the Nordic countries were presented and
discussed, the documentation requirements to be fulfilled by the manufacturers were
debated, and a decision was taken to initiate a common Nordic inspection project in 2001,
focusing on carcinogenic and mutagenic substances and substances that may be harmful to
reproduction (CMR substances) in consumer products. The group will work to set up and
maintain a network of professional inspectors, to make joint efforts in selected
inspection areas, and to coordinate the Nordic efforts at EU/EES level.
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