Legislation by the European Community on carcinogens

A brief overview is given of the legislation in the European Community concerning the classification and labelling, marketing and use, occupational exposure, etc. of carcinogenic agents. This includes data on the regulation of 739 agents which have been evaluated for carcinogenicity by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and/or the European Community. These data have been collected in a computerized data base. Although no comprehensive evaluation of the legislation is attempted, it is suggested that a number of carcinogenic agents still need attention, and that the labelling requirements should be supplemented with more restrictive legislation.