Subscribe to My Feed
Loading ...A WEEE Bill for Amazonas
Saturday, September 26th, 2009This week Amazonas (AM) became the latest state in which a bill on “technological trash” (lixo tecnologico or e-lixo) – the Brazilians nickname for what is known elsewhere as WEEE or e-waste — has been introduced. Unlike bills recently introduced in the northeastern states of Bahia and Pernambuco, which are based primarily on a Law on […]
A New Image for Chilean Cigarette Packs
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009Chile’s Health Ministry (Minsal) today issued a decree adding a new health warning message and picture to those that must be displayed on cigarette packs sold in that country on a rotating basis. As of 12 November, cigarette packs placed on the Chilean market must include the image at right on no less than 50% […]
Brazil Updates Mandatory Energy Label for Air Conditioners
Saturday, August 1st, 2009Brazil recently adopted a new set of rules for conformity assessment and energy effficiency labeling for air conditioners. Among other things, National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (Inmetro) Portaria 215, adopted on 23 July 2009 and published in the federal gazette on 27 July: extended the rules and compulsory labeling requirement (see sample […]
Colombia’s Surprising New Tobacco Control Law
Friday, July 24th, 2009Colombia has just passed a law on tobacco that is, well, surpising, given the language of the original bill and how strongly the industry lobby fought against against any amendments to toughen it. Among other things, the new law: bans sales to minors of any tobacco product, and requires vendors to check for proof of […]
Brazil and Uruguay Take the Lead in Implementing GHS
Saturday, July 4th, 2009Yesterday Uruguay became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to implement the Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) (known in Spanish as the Sistema Globalmente Armonizado – SGA) through binding legislation. President Tabaré Vázquez and his Council of Ministers signed Decree 307/009 on safety measures for chemical industry […]
Linkages Between Trade and Climate Change / Vinculos entre el comercio y el cambio climático
Friday, June 26th, 2009From the World Trade Organization (WTO): WTO and UNEP launch a report explaining for the first time the connections between trade and climate change The world cannot continue with “business as usual” and there is a profound need for a successful conclusion to the current negotiations on both climate change and trade opening. The WTO/UNEP […]
São Paulo Adopts a WEEE Law
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009The state assembly of the state of São Paulo (SP) today passed a law on “technological trash” (lixo tecnológico) that is likely to have a significant impact on the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) product and component business in Brazil. SP is Brazil’s biggest EEE market and home to much of its EEE industry, and […]
Argentina Sets Minimum Efficiency Levels for Refrigerators
Sunday, May 24th, 2009Argentina is one of the few Latin American nations (along with Brazil and Mexico) which has long (since 1999) had a mandatory energy efficiency labeling program for lighting and certain household appliances (refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers, water heaters). Even so, to date the mandatory labels have only been issued for refrigerators, […]
New Pharmaceutical Labeling Rules Proposed in Brazil
Friday, April 10th, 2009Brazil’s National Sanitary Vigilance Agency (ANVISA) is proposing changes in package labeling rules for pharmaceuticals sold in that country (as set out in ANVISA Resolution RDC 333/03) with a view to making pack labels more informative to consumers. For example, the proposals released for public consultation (until 11 May) would make medicines with a sedative […]
Government Study Calls for Mexican Battery Regulation / Estudio recomenda normatividad sobre las pilas en México
Friday, March 13th, 2009Mexico’s National Ecology Institute (INE) has just released an “environmental diagnosis” of portable batteries in that country. The study looks at the growth of battery consumption in Mexico, a recent analysis of the chemical composition of both formal and informal (“pirate”) batteries (looking particularly at heavy metal content and any other aspects that may make […]