A growing proportion of Europe’s population has tattoos. Now Norway and several other countries are researching how safe the chemicals used to the tattoos actually are.
According to the Environment Directorate one out of four Norwegians under the age of 30 have a tattoo. In the EU, the proportion of people with tattoos increased from 5 percent in 2005 to 12 percent this year.
The European Commission is now considering tightening the regulations governing the kinds of chemicals which the people making tattoos will be allowed to use.
– There are currently no standardized regulations for tattoos and what chemicals can be used in them which all the EU countries use, Ellen Hambro, Director of the Environment Directorate, says.
Tattoos and permanent makeup may contain substances that are associated with adverse health effects, such as cancer and allergies. Hambro says they currently lack knowledge about the risks these chemicals may pose to humans.
Therefore, Norway will prepare a proposal for restrictions under the EU chemicals legislation REACH, together with the European Chemicals Agency ECHA, Denmark, Germany and Italy. The proposal is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2017.
ECHA is now working on obtaining information from industry about the chemicals being used.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
