The instructions provided by chemical suppliers can be of little or no use to chemical users, even those using cancer-causing substances, a study has found. The project by European Union health and safety enforcement agencies on dyestuff safety found nearly 40 per cent of new dyestuffs were on the market illegally “putting workers and the environment at risk from exposure to them,” a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) news release said. HSE added: “Of particular concern was that half of the suppliers or merchants dealing in hazardous dyes (eg carcinogenic), had inadequately labelled sustances, thus increasing the potential risk to users… 150 substances, out of the 4,000 dyestuffs checked, were found to be hazardous (eg. sensitising or carcinogenic), and around 50 per cent of these were imported without a proper label indicating the hazardous properties.”

Europe-wide check finds 40 per cent of new dyestuffs illegally marketed, according to report on enforcement project. HSE news release E191:96, 6 November 1996. See Hazards report.