Safety information on dangerous products: consumer assessment of hazard symbols
Titel:
Safety information on dangerous products: consumer assessment of hazard symbols
Auteur:
Petre, Leen
Verschenen in:
International journal on injury control and safety promotion
Paginering:
Jaargang 3 (1996) nr. 1 pagina's 9-20
Jaar:
1996-03-01
Inhoud:
European rules on the labelling of dangerous products with hazard symbols and written warnings seem inadequate to prevent many accidents at home. Therefore, the Confederation of Family Organizations in the European Community (COFACE) looked into the knowledge, use and appreciation of this information by consumers.1 For this purpose, a questionnaire was circulated, mainly by family organizations, in various European Member States. Several aspects of users' appreciation of safety information were studied: their knowledge of hazard symbols and written safety information, their reading habits concerning safety information, their use of it for the assessment of risks and their general appreciation of safety information. The study was carried out at COFACE, with financial support from the Consumer Policy Service of the European Commission. The Hoger Instituut voor de Arbeid, a research institute at the University of Louvain (K.U. Leuven), assured the data input and provided the software assistance for the analysis. This article focuses on the first part of the research: people's understanding of hazard symbols. The answers to the questions on this subject were correlated with the relevant personal characteristics of users, such as age, gender, family situation, educational level, occupational activity and responsibility for tasks in the home involving dangerous products. This research gives an insight into people's knowledge of hazard signs and indicates where their knowledge is limited. In conclusion, suggestions are made for improving the effectiveness of the pictograms.
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