PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Chemicals (13 December 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will introduce requirements for manufacturers of antifreeze to (a) include a bittering agent in the product and (b) ensure that the product is non-toxic to animals.

Asked by:
Kerry McCarthy (Labour)

Antifreeze supplied for domestic use is regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This requires it to be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use when placed on the market. In addition, chemical products including antifreeze are also regulated by European Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures. This aims to protect people and the environment from the effects of hazardous chemicals by requiring suppliers to provide information about the hazards present and to package them safely.

There are no plans to regulate to require manufacturers to include a bittering agent, but producers are already able to add a bittering agent on a voluntary basis.

Answered by:
Claire Perry (Conservative)
18 December 2017