Better protect consumers from risk of skin allergies. This is the goal of the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) and the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI) with their proposal. This Monday, April 29, they submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (Echa) the idea of “Prohibit or limit more than a thousand allergenic substances” in clothing in Europe. These products “Sensitizers” are present in textile articles, leathers, furs and other skins sold to the general public.
More specifically, the proposal of ANSES and KemI affects “All substances classified as skin sensitizers under the CLP Regulation (classification, labeling and packaging), as well as 25 substances of the disperse dyes family with sensitizing properties”. Their risks were established by an assessment of the two agencies, which determined “The maximum concentrations not to be exceeded […] in order to protect consumers’.
Reduce exposure to sensitizing substances
In view of the work carried out, they therefore propose to ban certain molecules and to limit their concentrations for others. For example, chromium 6 compounds (textiles, leather, furs and skins) should not exceed 1 mg / kg for. For nickel and its compounds, the maximum concentration should reach 130 mg / kg (textiles) and 110 mg / kg (leather, furs and skins). Cobalt, formaldehyde and 1,4 paraphenylene diamine (PPD) are also affected.
“Chemical alternatives exist in particular for disperse dyes (that is to say not soluble in water, used to dye synthetic fibers, note) for which the substitution is feasible and has already started in Europe”, underlines ANSES. The suggestion will therefore soon be the subject of a public consultation, for a period of six months. The Echa will then formulate an opinion, transmitted to the European Commission for “Rule on the adoption of this restriction”.
In June 2018, a expertise conducted by ANSES had already recommended lowering the regulatory maximum levels of allergenic elements. The organization then advised consumers to wash any new clothing likely to come into contact with the skin before wearing it for the first time, in order to reduce exposure to irritants.
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