Hazardous Substances Control Group, Bureau of Cosmetic & Hazardous Substances Control, Food and Drug Administration, is responsible for regulating the hazardous substance products for household and public health use to meet quality and safety standards by the empowerment of the Hazardous Substance Act B.E.2535 (1992).
The hazardous substances used in household or public health products, include:
- Public health pesticides : Any products containing pesticides or rodenticides, such as mosquito coils, insect repellents, ectoparasiticides, rat killers, ant killers, cockroach killers, and termiticides.
- Cleaning products : Any products used for cleaning any surfaces or materials, such as dishwashing products, liquid laundry detergents, toilet cleaners, glass cleaners and car washing products.
- Disinfectants : Any products containing antimicrobial agents, except those products used for pharmaceuticals and for medical devices.
- Other consumer products : Other products such as drain opening products, paper correction products, alkyl cyanoacrylate adhesive.
Pre-marketing Control on Hazardous
The types of hazardous substances determine the control procedures, i.e. notifying the authority, product registration, and licensing. Product registration is the process of assessing the quality, efficacy and toxicity of any products being registered. Besides, labels are examined for correct information and facts. Upon approval, the registration certificate is issued. While the licensing is the process of assessing the manufacturing site, storage sites or warehouses in terms of potential health hazards to workers, neighboring residents and the environment. A manufacturing license, import license or possession license is issued to the company if its safety measures are approved.
Post-marketing Control on Hazardous
Surveillance and monitoring enterprises After permission and registration, the officers will visit the licensed sites regularly without notice to inspect whether the approved conditions are still maintained according to the permission and registration. The unlicensed sites and the distribution premises will be inspected as well. Products in the process of manufacturing as well as those on the market are randomly sampled for chemical analysis or for label checking, based on their registration records. The legal measures are taken against any persons who violate the laws and regulations. Surveillance of advertisements Surveillance of advertisements in all media such as printing media, television, radio, etc. is also the responsibility of post-marketing control officials. Advertisements of hazardous substances shall neither have any overclaim statement nor mislead the consumers. Monitoring of consumer complaints Monitoring of consumer complaints about the adverse reactions of hazardous products used in households and public health.
Other Activities on Hazardous
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) is a key element that can assure the quality, efficacy and safety of industrial products. A project on GMP implementation has been set up for hazardous substances. At the moment, it is a voluntary program. Based on the guidelines were established in 1997, some plants have applied for participation in the program. After plant inspections, products sampling, documentation review, and plant improvements as recommended, GMP certificates are issued to the plants with acceptable practices. It is anticipated that the number of GMP-certified plants will increase each year. Codes of conduct for Pest Control Operations (PCOs) has been established for use as a key element for developing the PCOs; and supports the development of knowledge and technology to help the PCOs in upgrading their PCOs industries. Toxicity surveillance of hazardous substances and chemicals has been conducted. In addition, the safety surveillance under the Adverse Product Reactions (APR) Program has been performed to obtain poison information from hospitals in order to analyze and assess the health status related to hazardous substances exposure. Finally, the results are applied to set the rules and regulations for controlling the suspected products.
Classification of hazardous substances and its related requirement
The Hazardous Substance Act B.E.2535 (1992) classifies hazardous substance into 4 types according to degrees of hazards and risks and the needs for control.
Hazardous Substance Lists
The Hazardous Substance Act B.E.2535 (1992) classifies hazardous substances into 4 types (see details in “Classification hazardous substance and its related requirement”) The names of hazardous substances, types of hazardous substances, responsible agencies and conditions of control are publicized in the annexed table of the Notification of Ministry of Industry : List of hazardous substances.
The List is the Notification of Ministry of Industry: List of Hazardous Substances B.E.2538 (1995) which has 7 amendments.
The hazardous substance list was divided into List “Gor” (ก.) and List “Khor” (ข.).