Commercial Information Circulars

Ref : EIC 230/4/2 VI

21 August 1998

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 117/98

Austria : Ban on the Use of Carcinogenic Azo Dyes and Azo Pigments

The Department has received information that Austria published a regulation on 29 July 1998 to ban the production, import and sale of clothing and consumer articles containing carcinogenic amines. A copy of the unofficial translation of the Austrian Regulation (the Regulation) is annexed (pdf format) to this circular for reference.

DETAILS

2. The Austrian Regulation is introduced on health protection grounds and is modelled largely on the German ban on azo dyes effected in 1996. The main points of the Regulation are set out in the paragraphs below.

3. The ban covers clothing and other consumer articles made of textile material or leather which may come into more than transitory contact with the skin and which contain the banned azo dyes or azo pigments. Examples of 'other consumer articles' include bed linen, bed covers and pillows, wigs and hair-pieces, jewellery worn next to the skin, wristlets, and crawling mats for babies and small children. Second-hand goods are exempted from the ban.

4. Azo dyes and azo pigments which can release certain carcinogenic amines are banned. The list of the carcinogenic amines, twenty in total, is at the Appendix (pdf format) of the Regulation. The list is identical to the list of amines banned by Germany. Clothing and other consumer articles are subject to the ban if out of each kilogram of the article, more than 30 mg of the banned amines is detected. The detection methods follow those of Germany provided under Germany's 'Official Collection of Investigative Procedures'.

5. The Regulation provides transitional periods for implementing the ban :

1. the production and import of clothing and consumer articles containing carcinogenic amines will be prohibited as from 1 January 1999;
2. the sale of clothing and consumer articles containing carcinogenic amines will be prohibited as from 1 January 2000.

ENQUIRIES

6. For enquiries about the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5684.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Helen YUNG)

for Director-General of Trade

Note : While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.