2.4 Substances and products in the Nordic product registers

2.4      Substances and products in the Nordic product registers

The Nordic product registers are among the most comprehensive product registers in the world with regard to completeness of information and the number of registered products and substances. The Nordic product registers contain valuable information on the actual use of chemical preparations and substances on the market both in terms of volumes, number of products, composition of products and the function and industrial categories where the substance can be found.

Of the Nordic product registers, the Danish and Swedish product registers contain information on the largest numbers of products and the highest proportion of products on the market.

In Sweden, the declaration requirements are based on the customs tariff codes, so that as a general rule, they apply to all chemical products (substances and preparations). The Swedish register therefore contains more products than those that are classified as dangerous according to EU legislation.

In Norway, declaration is mandatory for all products to which the Regulations relating to the classification, labelling, etc. of dangerous chemicals (the Chemical Labelling Regulations) apply, including consumer products. These regulations implement EU directives on the classification, labelling, etc. of chemicals in Norwegian legislation.

The requirements for declaration to the Finnish and Danish product registers are also based on these directives (In Denmark, declaration is limited to dangerous products for business use), but there are additional extensive national rules for declaration. In Finland these additional requirements for example apply to chemicals that cause danger although they are not classified, and in Denmark they apply to chemicals that cause danger although they are not classified and solvents, pesticides and biocides.

All four countries exempt products that come under legislation on foodstuffs and medicinal products from mandatory declaration. Furthermore, the duty to declare products to the product registers does not apply to cosmetic products.

In addition, there is in principle no requirement to declare solid processed articles to any of the registers. Thus, the duty to declare products to the registers does not include chemicals in textiles, chipboard, etc. But if the articles are produced in the Nordic countries the raw materials used may be declared. There is also a general exemption from the duty to declare chemicals in Sweden, Finland and Norway, if the quantity produced or imported is less than 100 kg per year (in Finland no exact amount is given). This means that small volumes of chemicals (e.g. laboratory chemicals, products for dental services) may escape registration.

The confidentiality of data in the registers is handled according to national regulations. The SPIN Database and publication of statistics makes it possible to produce public information based on the confidential information in the registers.