The “Humidifier Sanitizer Incident,” where consumers who used commercially purchased humidifier sanitizers suffered deaths or critical lung diseases, and the “Gumi Hydrogen Fluoride Leak Accident,” where a leak of ten tons of hydrogen fluoride gas at a factory handling the chemical resulted in the deaths of five workers and injuries to eighteen others, illustrate how chemicals in industrial settings can pose threats to us. Germany has implemented the Chemicals Management Act to prevent such incidents, considering both workers and consumers.
▣Protecting Both Consumers and Workers
In advertisements for cosmetics, perfumes, and other products imported from Europe, the phrase “REACH Certification Complete” often appears.
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) is a safety certification established by the European Union (EU) to protect human health and the environment from chemicals. The German chemicals management system operates in accordance with REACH standards, which are considered highly safe. REACH has stringent criteria that require certification only after passing inspections for approximately 205 hazardous substances.
The centerpiece of the German chemical management system is the “Chemical Management Act.” A key feature of the German Chemical Management Act is the centralization of chemical management. The law’s scope is divided into two categories: “biological working materials” and “individuals using chemicals at home.” In contrast, domestic chemical management laws such as the “Cosmetic Act, Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, and Food Sanitation Act” are subdivided by field, making Germany’s classification criteria significantly simpler.
Domestic chemical management laws have detailed classification standards, resulting in separate laws and responsible departments, with minimal regulations protecting workers. However, in Germany, the simplification of the law’s application into just “working materials” and “personal use materials” ensures the safety of workers. Protecting workers under the Chemical Management Act is an extension of protecting public health, as chemicals handled in production and manufacturing eventually become finished products that reach consumers.
The German government specifies concrete measures to ensure worker safety through the “Hazardous Substances Management Ordinance.” For instance, companies must conduct a risk assessment at the beginning of their operations and, if problems are found, they can resume work only after implementing safety measures or changing processes. If work involves handling carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reproductive toxicants, the employer must maintain records of workers’ exposure durations and intensities, and keep these records for 40 years after the exposure has ended.
▣The greater the dissemination of risk information, the lower the risk
In order to strengthen the management of hazardous and chemical substances, Germany implemented the “New Chemicals Management System” on May 1, 2013, which refined the existing chemical management laws. Under this system, German companies are obligated to actively disclose if their products contain materials that could potentially harm consumers’ health.
Especially in B2B (Business to Business) transactions, companies must disclose safety information even without customer requests, while in B2C (Business to Consumer) transactions, information must be provided upon consumer request. Additionally, the German Federal Environment Agency provides online support for questions and answers regarding chemical hazards.
The aim is to ensure that consumers are more widely informed about factors that threaten their health. Legal sanctions for violations have also been strengthened. If companies fail to accurately and completely disclose the risks associated with their products or fail to provide information, fines of up to €50,000 (approximately 7,412,000 KRW) can be imposed. Moreover, operators of companies that violate regulations may face up to 5 years in prison.