Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the NHS has made of the potential health risks of exposure to formaldehyde used in the manufacture of everyday products.

Jane Ellison

Consumer products are subject to the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 which demands that "No producer shall supply or place a consumer product on the market unless the product is a safe product.”

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) applies in the workplace when hazardous substances are manufactured, used or where processes are undertaken that generate hazardous substances. COSHH requires the employer to carry out a risk assessment to establish what, if any, hazards are associated with products/processes employees are using/undertaking and then put measures in place to control exposure to those hazards.