On the afternoon of the 22nd, a hand sanitizer for quarantine is provided in a market in Seoul. yunhap news
Amid the increase in the use of chemical products such as disinfectants due to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the government has come up with comprehensive management measures to prevent the second humidifier disinfectant accident.
On the 27th, the government held a meeting of social relations ministers presided by Yu Eun-hye, deputy prime minister of society and minister of education, and discussed comprehensive plans for household chemical products and biocides. This agenda proposed by the Ministry of Environment is a plan to be established every five years in accordance with the Act on the Safety Management of Household Chemical Products and Biocidal Agents established to prevent accidents with humidifier disinfectants.
The government decided to adjust safety standards and strengthen the evaluation and verification process to meet the rapidly changing chemical product market conditions. The number of household chemical products subject to safety confirmation will increase from 39 items to 50 items by 2025.
In particular, the use of disinfectants for COVID-19, which has recently increased rapidly, expedites safety verification and approval screening while strengthening the surveillance of illegal products. The policy is to simplify the approval process by exempting some of the data submitted for internationally approved biocidal materials and to ensure safety through early approval.
It also avoids concerns about possible safety gaps before the biocidal material approval grace period arrives. The government plans to collect high-risk products in consideration of the degree of public exposure after a survey on life-related products due to concerns that biocides that have not been verified for safety may be distributed. In addition, a plan to strengthen the labeling standards will be prepared to block in advance the hype of antibacterial products as disinfectants and disinfectants.
As a way to preemptively block the release of harmful products, it is obligatory to check whether the product is legitimate during product sales by an online sales broker or purchase agent before product release. In the case of products that have already been released, it will block distribution by strengthening safety investigations and operating market monitoring teams. In addition, it has decided to establish a legal basis for administrative measures such as prohibiting manufacturing and importing or blocking sales of products that are concerned about consumer harm before risk assessment.
Reporter Nam Yoon-seo [email protected]