Fact Sheet: Decorative items with light or colour effects

The use of dangerous, liquid chemical substances or products in decorative items producing lighting or colour effects is prohibited . Examples of such items include lava lights and luminescent jewellery.

Chemical substances are considered dangerous if they are toxic, carcinogenic, corrosive, flammable or cause congenital damage.

The regulations aim to protect humans and the environment
The regulations exist to prevent injury to humans or damage to the environment through contact with dangerous chemical substances or products, if they break or when they are disposed off.

Manufacturers, importers and distributors are responsible
Anyone who sells, imports or produces decorative items is responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulation, as set out in the Statutory Order.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical inspectors monitor compliance with the regulations and will ensure that illegal situations are brought into compliance. This may involve withdrawing the product from the Danish market, or making the product legal in some other way. Anyone who breaches the regulations may additionally face a fine or prison sentence of up to two years.

More information
The full text of the regulations is available (in Danish) at the Retsinformation website:
" Ministry of the Environment Statutory Order no. 1042 of 17 December 1997 limiting the sale and use of certain dangerous chemical substances and products for specific purposes."  Section 17 deals with decorative items. (Danish link)

“Ministry of the Environment Statutory Order no. 329 of 16 May 2002 on the classification, packaging, labelling, sale and storage of chemical substances and products” (at www.retsinfo.dk , in Danish) specifies which chemical substances and products are dangerous.

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