Optimal Decisions on Harmful Chemical Limits in Consumer Goods within an Acceptable Risk Level

Abstract

Standard limits for harmful chemicals in consumer goods are important for consumer safety and the development of relevant industries. This paper proposes a method for determining content limits of chemicals in consumer goods by extending the “as low as reasonably practicable” (ALARP) principle by adding the impact of price and cost changes. While giving due consideration to the price and cost factors of consumer goods, this method derives such limits by measuring “acceptable consumer risk level” on the demand side and “industrial tolerance to chemical limits” on the supply side to obtain the ALARP area. Through a combination of functional relations between different factors and chemical limits, including consumer welfare, producer welfare, and external cost, a general chemical limit decision model can be created for the determination of the general limits of chemicals. This research provides a new methodology for studying decisions on chemical limits by considering consumer and industry affordability. In the final part of this paper, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified based on data of Bisphenol A used in the production of polycarbonate (PC) toys; the data were obtained from enterprise surveys and consumer questionnaires. Through our method, in this paper, a more suitable determination of harmful chemical substances can be obtained.