From: Irish Health

The directive from the European Council regulates the use of hydrogen peroxide. Specifically, it bans the use of tooth whitening products which contain over 6% of the chemical. It also states that tooth whitening can only be carried out on a patient if the procedure is being supervised by a dentist.

Meanwhile, people under the age of 18 will not be allowed use these products at all.

Last month, the Irish Dental Association (IDA) expressed serious concern about some tooth whitening products. It claimed that many of these products ranged from ‘useless to dangerous’….It also expressed concerned about unsupervised tooth whitening and insisted that only fully-qualified dentists should be allowed to provide such services.

Under this new directive, products that contain up to 0.1% of hydrogen peroxide will still be available to consumers. However, when it comes to products that contain between 0.1% and 6% of the chemical, a dentist must carry out a full clinical examination and the first treatment. After that, patients can continue the treatment themselves.

Click on links for more information.

From: France 24

Europe moved Monday to restrict access to chemicals found in everyday products from shampoo to fertiliser but which can be made into explosives such as those used in the 2005 London bombings….The European Union’s executive arm proposed a uniform rule for the entire 27-nation EU on chemicals that can be transformed into home-made bombs in order to have the same standard for every state.

The legislation would prevent potential bomb-makers from taking advantage of differing EU laws by crossing borders to get the chemicals they need if it is restricted in their country of residence, the European Commission said.

The latest report by the police agency Europol showed that home-made explosives are frequently used by terrorists to perpetrate attacks, she said.

For instance hydrogen peroxide, which is found in for hair-dye, tooth whitener and toilet cleaners, was used in the London public transport bombings that left 52 people dead, the commission noted.

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: REACH compliance, EU SDS authoring, SDS authoring

We posted a few days ago about Restricted Components Regulations. One question that kept coming up was “We have a product that is a mixture and one of the components is listed in the regulations. Does this apply to us?” The answer: Unless specifically mentioned in the regulations, the act only covers the pure form not mixtures. The Ministry of Natural Resources sent us this clarification:

Except for the H2O2, the Nitric Acid and the Ammonium nitrate, the other 6 restricted components (including Nitromethane) are currently regulated under their pure form (i.e. 100%).

The exemptions are as follows:

(a) ammonium nitrate in solid form at a concentration between 28 and 34% nitrogen;

(b) hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of at least 30%, UN numbers: 2015 and 3149;

(g) nitric acid at a concentration of at least 68%, UN numbers: 2031 and 2032;

I hope this clears things up. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us at info@nexreg.com

From Canada’s Ministry of Natural Resources, and recently printed in the Canada Gazette. The full text of the regulations is available here. A few key details:

What it covers:

The following components of an explosive are prescribed for the purpose of the definition “restricted component” in section 2 of the Act:

(a) ammonium nitrate in solid form at a concentration between 28 and 34% nitrogen;

(b) hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of at least 30%, UN numbers: 2015 and 3149;

(c) nitromethane, UN number: 1261;

(d) potassium chlorate, UN number: 1485;

(e) potassium perchlorate, UN number: 1489;

(f) sodium chlorate in solid form, UN number: 1495;

(g) nitric acid at a concentration of at least 68%, UN numbers: 2031 and 2032;

(h) potassium nitrate, UN numbers: 1486 and 1499; and

(i) sodium nitrate in solid form, UN numbers: 1498 and 1499.

[Section 3 of the Act]

These components will no longer be available for sale in Canada:

No person shall sell a restricted component except in accordance with these Regulations.

[Section 4 of the Act]

Unless the seller is on the list of sellers of restricted components:

Only persons who are enrolled on the list of sellers of restricted components may sell a restricted component.

A person may be enrolled on the list of sellers by applying to the Chief Inspector using the form provided by the Minister. The application must include

(a) the applicant’s name, address, telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address;

(b) the restricted components that the applicant intends to sell;

(c) the locations where restricted components are to be stored or sold, and the storage capacity at each location for each component; and

(d) the name, telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address of a contact person for each location where the restricted component is to be stored or sold.

[Sections 5 and 6 of the Act]

There are some exceptions:

These Regulations do not apply to the sale of restricted components to laboratories that are a part of or affiliated with a

(a) post-secondary educational institution recognized by a province;

(b) hospital or health clinic; or

(c) federal or provincial government or government agency.

[Section 2 of the Act]

The restrictions on Ammonium Nitrate come into effect on June 1, 2008 and the restrictions on all other chemicals come into effect on March 1, 2009:

(1) These Regulations, other than Part 1, come into force on June 1, 2008.

(2) Part 1 comes into force on March 1, 2009.

[Section 36 of the Act

Note: Part 1 has the title SECURITY — RESTRICTED COMPONENTS OTHER THAN AMMONIUM NITRATE]

The above is just a few of the key points of the Regulations. Please refer to the full text – available here.

Posted in Cadmium, California, Hydrogen Peroxide, Prop 65, United States | No Comments »