The tenth annual campaign to monitor the implementation of chemicals legislation (REF-10) has been launched at European level. The campaign is coordinated by the FORUM Committee of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and involves the testing of various chemicals and articles for the presence of hazardous and banned chemicals in them. In the framework of this campaign, the corresponding controls will be carried out in the Cypriot market as well.
The Labour Inspection Department of the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance, as the competent authority for this legislation, informs the affected industrialists, importers and distributors that it is likely that relevant controls will be carried out in their premises and that competent inspectors will proceed to take samples of products and articles to carry out analytical tests. Inspectors will also check whether, for items identified as containing chemicals of very high concern, the relevant information has been communicated to the supply chain and consumers to better inform and protect them.
Examples of items to be checked are:
- plastic articles, soft plastic items, gym equipment, toys and childcare articles for the presence of phthalates, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and small and medium-sized chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs),
- suspended decorations and other metallic articles in contact with the skin for the presence of Nickel, Cadmium and Lead,
- clothing and textile articles for the presence of azo dyes and carcinogenic chemicals,
- leather articles for the presence of hexavalent chromium, azo dyes and dimethyl fumarate (DMF),
- cement for the presence of hexavalent chromium,
- evidence paper for the presence of Bisphenol-A (BPA),
- adhesives for the presence of benzene, chloroform and toluene, etc.ά.
Most of the products to be tested are expected to be consumer products. The inspections will be carried out simultaneously by the competent authorities in all Member States during 2022, and a report on the results of the campaign will be published at the end of 2023. Interested parties can find more information on the annual pan-European campaigns and the work of the FORUM Committee at https:/echa.europa.eu/el/about-us/who-we-are/enforcement-forum/forum-enforcement-projects.
For further information, interested parties may also contact the relevant officials on 22405609 and 22405608.
(NΓ/IK)
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