Hazard Classification of Household Chemical Products in Korea according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and labeling of Chemicals

Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Kyung-Hee Kim¹  Dae-Jong Song¹  Myeong-Hyun Yu¹  Yuon-Shin Park³  Hye-Ran Noh³  Hae-Joon Kim²  Jae-Wook Choi² 

[1] Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

[2] Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

[3] National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea

关键词: Hazard communication;    Household chemical products;    Consumer products;    GHS;   

Others  :  791091
DOI  :  10.1186/2052-4374-25-11

 received in 2012-12-07, accepted in 2013-04-16,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Objectives

This study was conducted to review the validity of the need for the application of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) to household chemical products in Korea. The study also aimed to assess the severity of health and environmental hazards of household chemical products using the GHS.

Methods

135 products were classified as ‘cleaning agents and polishing agents’ and 98 products were classified as ‘bleaches, disinfectants, and germicides.’ The current status of carcinogenic classification of GHS and carcinogenicity was examined for 272 chemical substances contained in household chemical products by selecting the top 11 products for each of the product categories. In addition, the degree of toxicity was assessed through analysis of whether the standard of the Republic of Korea’s regulations on household chemical products had been exceeded or not.

Results

According to GHS health and environmental hazards, “acute toxicity (oral)” was found to be the highest for two product groups, ‘cleaning agents and polishing agents’, and ‘bleaches, disinfectants, and germicides’ (result of classification of 233 household chemical products) at 37.8% and 52.0% respectively. In an analysis of carcinogenicity assuming a threshold of IARC 2B for the substances in household chemical products, we found ‘cleaning agents and polishing agents’ to contain 12 chemical substances and ‘bleaches, disinfectants, and germicides’ 11 chemical substances.

Conclusion

Some of the household chemical products were found to have a high hazard level including acute toxicity and germ cell mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity. Establishing a hazard information delivery system including the application of GHS to household chemical products in Korea is urgent as well.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Kim et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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