Consumer products safety
The JRC is developing a Consumer Products Safety Database which will help product safety analysts and institutions throughout Europe communicate more effectively. Background There is no doubt that consumer products are much less hazardous than they used to be, thanks to EU legislation on safety standards, consumers demanding greater protection and manufacturers having to take responsibility for product shortcomings. Although legislation has led to the removal of many hazardous components from consumer products, how can the EU citizen be sure that products on sale conform to the latest safety requirements? Local trading standards offices have their role to play in ensuring product safety compliance, but there is also a need for a central register of products and qualified independent testing experts. The key word is independent. Only qualified personnel within organisations having no vested interest are able to judge product safety to the satisfaction of individual Member States - arbitrary unfavourable judgements could result in trade disputes. Such a register would ensure that safety information is disseminated quickly and that duplication of tests is avoided. This is exactly what the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has set out to do. The JRC's Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, in Geel, Belgium, has been working closely with the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection to implement just such a database. The initial step was to create a Europe-wide list of experts able to carry out product hazard assessments. With time, demands from industry, legislators and the experts involved have led to the database's scope being widened to include information on the products themselves. Description, impact and results Current work on the Consumer Products Safety Database is focused on a comprehensive software and content update. In addition to detailing the experts' co-ordinates and fields of expertise, the revamped databank will include numerous product definitions and details, based on international classification standards. The aim is that the information will be used like a `thesaurus', containing synonyms and search functions, and hazard classification. The three major entities of the database will be linked allowing a user to search for a particular research institute, for example, to see where its fields of expertise lie, details of all the products it has worked with and the risks associated with these products. It will soon be accessible via the Internet. The data can contain any number of languages. Initially, it will be set up in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, but can be expanded later, although the project team faces a difficulty here as not all glossaries are complete for all languages. They will begin by using computerised translations, employing the Commission's own translation software, but are planning to create a feedback page on the website, relying on network users in the EU to advise them of any mistakes or quirks of local language usage. The first version of the interactive site should be up and running early in 2000. Much of the past year has been spent publicising the imminent arrival of the new database. As the JRC researchers point out, the only way the site can be truly interactive is if the experts know it is coming, understand its purpose, recognise how they can make a meaningful contribution to its ultimate success, and appreciate how they can benefit from its use. To this end, the team has published numerous articles in recognised journals and made presentations at leading conferences on product safety and risk assessment. Working partnerships The JRC is not the only organisation with the idea of formalising product safety databases. To avoid duplication, the database is structured in such a way that it can merge with counterparts like the ICD-10 databank, developed by the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, and also the NEISS (National Electronic Injury Surveillance System) register, administered by the US Consumer Products Safety Commission. In addition, during the course of their missions to conferences across Europe, researchers have met fellow-workers working in complementary areas, and are currently investigating possible partnership synergies. The researchers stress that the major users of their system will be product safety experts and official bodies. It will be a communication and feedback tool and, once it enters use as such, the major partners will be the main users.