Enforcement 10/25: Emergency preparedness and child protection

The report describes an inspection project in which we checked goods related to emergency preparedness or child protection. The inspection has included chemical analysis and labelling control.

In this project, the Swedish Chemicals Agency has checked the chemical content and labelling of 117 products, purchased at 46 stores. In the analyses, we have looked for substances restricted in the RoHS Directive, the REACH Regulation and the POPs Regulation. We have also checked that the requirements set out in the Biocidal Products Regulation are met for the water filters that have been inspected in the project.

A high proportion (40 percent) of the products inspected contained excessive levels of restricted substances. Lead was found in 35 of 47 the controlled products, making it the most common substance deficiency. Other frequently encountered substances were short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and the phthalates DEHP and DBP. Less common substance deficiencies found were cadmium, PBDEs and PAHs.

Almost half of the products with labelling requirements lacked proper labelling. 31 of the 38 products (82 percent) that contained excessive levels of substances restricted by the RoHS Directive was incorrectly CE marked. This result suggests that the importance of the CE marking has deteriorated, and that economic actors are using the mark without fulfilling the obligations associated with it.