A recent investigation by Luxembourg’s environment agency brought to light non-compliance of disinfectants put on the national market. 65% of the products inspected between autumn 2020 and summer 2021 were found non-compliant with the country’s biocides legislation, which imposes national law on biocidal products containing active substances still under review in the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR).
This investigation echoes the results of Cefic’s analysis of data that showed a steep increase in 2020 in hand sanitiser imports not compliant with the EU chemicals safety rules. The concerned products were either not marked as flammable, contained methanol (not compliant with the EU CLP rules), or held an insufficient percentage of ethanol to kill viruses (not compliant with the EU Biocides Regulation).
Cefic highlighted that strengthening enforcement, especially in imports, has been identified as one of the areas of focus in the new chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS).
Ensuring the safety of their products, including hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants, is a priority of the members of MCEC.
