South Korea Consults on Two Standards concerning Household Chemical Products

South Korea proposed revisions to the testing and safety management of household chemical products. So far, K-BPR regulates 13 categories covering 35 kinds of household chemical products. In addition to strengthening safety standards and market surveillance, the authority is prompting companies that manufacture household products to sign a voluntary agreement pledging to produce safer products.

South Korea’s NIER is consulting on draft amendments of two standards^[1] concerning the testing and safety management of “household chemical products subject to suitability confirmation” (hereafter referred to as the household chemical products). The public consultation is set to end on Dec 10^th, 2019.

The household chemical products have been regulated under the Act on Safety Management of Household Chemical Products and Biocidal Products (K-BPR^[2]) since Jan 1st, 2019. Previous to this date, these products were managed by K-REACH^[3] as the products of risk concern. They are subject to assessment every three years at specialized labs to verify compliance with the safety standards.

As proposed, mercury and its compounds will be regulated as restricted substances in household products per the Minamata Convention on Mercury. In addition, the testing methods will be improved, and some unqualified labs will be removed from the official list.

So far, 13 categories covering a total of 35 kinds of household chemical products have been regulated, including detergents, laundry products, coatings, adhesives, air fresheners, inks, disinfectants, insect repellents, preservative products etc. The whole list of household products and safety requirements are detailed in Annex 1 and 2 of the Designation of Household Products and the Safety and Labeling Standards^[4].

The 2011 humidifier disinfectant incident is a driver for strengthening control of household chemical products. In addition to strengthened safety standards, the authority continues market surveillance on household chemical products. The products, if found in breach of national safety and labeling standards, will be listed on the Hazardous Products Sales Prevention System^[5] and subject to bans, recalls or fines.

Also, the authority has been promoting manufacturers and importers of household chemical products in South Korea to join a voluntary safety management agreement to disclose full ingredients contained in the products (CL news^[6]). Seventeen major companies signed the voluntary agreement for the production of safer products in 2017. They took two years (from Feb 2017 to Feb 2019) to strengthen companies’ social responsibility and eliminate consumer safety concerns about household products. Another 19 companies were involved in June of 2019 and will also take two years to increase the use of safer ingredients in household products.