Everyone uses all kinds of chemical products on a daily basis. Most of them can be classified under the heading of “household chemicals”. We hereby refer to products such as washing and cleaning products, decloggers, solvents, glues and paints. All sort of things that you often have under your sink without being fully aware of the hazards and risks associated with them. That is why they mostly have a hazard label. However, the content of this will change considerably by a new European regulation called CLP Regulation 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures.…

Europe aims to guarantee with the new legislation a high level of protection for the health of humans and the environment. In addition, an attempt is made to protect the free trade of substances, mixtures and certain objects on the internal market.

The new labels are introduced in phases. Currently, we are in a transitional phase wherein you can notice both the current and new labels in the stores. All household chemicals must comply with the new legislation at the latest by 1 June 2017.

In the following sections, you can read what will change exactly concerning the different parts of a hazard label. The hazard pictograms (symbols that indicate a hazard), signal words (danger or warning), hazard statements (H-phrases) and precautionary statements (P-phrases) are discussed successively.

The website lireavantutilisation.be (only in French & Dutch) tells you all about the safety measures to avoid accidents, the hazard symbols mentioned on the labels of chemicals and their meaning. It also features a series of videos illustrating typical hazardous situations at home. The brochure, too, provides you with plenty of information on the most common accidents and the way to easily avoid them.