Dec. 4 Denmark: Danish NGOs Launch Nanodatabase to Identify Exposure Risk and Potential Hazards of Nanomaterials

This article is brought to you by SpecialChem about organizations who are concerned about nano-materials, and what they are doing to raise awareness.

The Danish Consumer Council and the Danish Ecological Council has in cooperation with DTU Environment developed a database, which help consumers identify more than 1,200 products that may contain nanomaterials.

“We are concerned that the flawed legislation means that too many nanomaterials are introduced to the market, before we know the full effects on humans and the environment”, says Lone Mikkelsen, chemical expert from the Danish Ecological Council.

Today the producers of products containing nanomaterials have no obligation to declare their products. In the view of the Danish Consumer Council and the Danish Ecological Council this is a big problem.

“Most consumers have no idea if there are nanomaterials or not in the goods they’re buying. And they have no way of finding out, so that they can avoid the products if they are worried about the potentially harmful effects” says Claus Jørgensen, Senior Advisor at the Danish Consumer Council.

This is why the Danish Ecological Council and the Danish Consumer Council in cooperation with experts from DTU Environment has decided to launch the Nanodatabase. Now consumers can search the database to see if a certain product contains nanomaterials or is marketed as ‘nano’. This way the consumers can choose if they want the nanomaterials or not.

The Danish Consumer Council and the Danish Ecological Council emphasizes the necessity of having a mandatory nano-label. And it’s already happening. From the summer of 2013 all cosmetic products containing nanomaterials have to be labeled. And the EU has decided to label nano used in biocides. This will increase transparency for consumers as to where nanomaterials are used, but we need labeling across the board, not just for some sectors.

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