Mosquito Coil Ingredient Allethrin Deemed 'Potential Risk' in Europe

Ministry of Environment to Reverify Safety
Primarily Used in Mosquito Coils and Insecticide Sprays

The insecticidal substance 'Allethrin,' which had been approved for use domestically, was disapproved by the European Union due to potential hazards. The Ministry of Environment plans to re-verify its safety.

[Photo by Pixabay]

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Environment announced that it held the "Committee on the Management of Household Chemical Products and Biocides" (hereinafter referred to as the Management Committee) on June 30th and decided to re-verify the safety of Allethrin, a compound used in insecticides. Allethrin was first developed in the United States in 1949 and is mainly used in mosquito coils and insecticide sprays.

Previously, the Management Committee verified the safety and efficacy of 48 biocidal substances, including Allethrin, and gave final approval for domestic use. However, in March, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), part of the European Union, ultimately disapproved Allethrin, citing hazards from degradation products formed when the substance is exposed to sunlight. In response, the Management Committee decided to re-verify its safety.

The Management Committee reviewed ECHA's evaluation results and discussed future response measures. They found scientific limitations in the assessment methods ECHA applied to evaluate the hazards of the degradation products and plan to conduct additional safety verification.

Hwang Gye-young, Director of the Environmental Health Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "As resolved by the Management Committee, we will thoroughly re-verify the safety of Allethrin quickly using scientific and objective methods through discussions and reviews by various experts so that consumers can use products more safely."

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