A/HRC/30/40 example, 69 per cent of submissions by chemical manufactures that were evaluated by authorities were not in compliance with the information requirements of the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.45 Furthermore, pollutant release and transfer registers are not in place in many countries. 2. To effectively disseminate information 61. States have a duty to effectively disseminate information to everyone who may be adversely affected by the production, storage, use, release and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. This includes the obligation to communicate information both actively and on demand, as well as to make information functional. 62. Over 100 countries have laws reflecting the duty to provide information that is held by public authorities on request, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. 46 In these countries, applicants are often entitled to obtain information within a specific time frame and without specifying the reasons for the request. 63. States have a duty to actively disseminate information to businesses, governmental authorities and the public, which is necessary to protect individuals and communities from the negative impact of hazardous substances on their health and well-being. In addition to jurisprudence articulating this duty in the context of various human rights,47 States have acknowledged within a global policy framework that public awareness is a basic need for decision-making, including products and articles containing hazardous substances. 48 64. Informing consumers about hazardous substances in products has been a challenge. To help realize the right of consumers to know whether they are buying products with hazardous substances, States have created mechanisms to enable consumers to request information from companies. Article 33 of the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals gives European consumers the right to ask whether consumer articles contain certain types of hazardous substances. In addition, labelling requirements enable consumers to understand quickly which hazardous substances are present or may have been during production. The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland operates a web-based environmental information service called “What’s in your backyard?” that enables members of the public to find information on hazardous substances waste on a local basis by entering their postcode. 49 In addition, Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency website has a selection of “green tips” for consumers, especially on chemicals in products. Furthermore, major hospitals in Copenhagen have national poison hotlines, which provide information on chemicals in relation to poisoning and mainly household, domestic accidents involving chemicals. 65. In addition to government initiatives, mobile phone applications such as ToxFox — which checks whether cosmetic products contain hazardous substances — are available to help consumers have access to information at the point of purchase, thereby empowering them.50 At the global level, UNEP is leading the “chemicals in products” project to increase 45 46 47 48 49 50 European Chemicals Agency, “Compliance checks: statistics”, available from www.echa. europa.eu/regulations/reach/evaluation/compliance-checks/5-percent-compliance-checks-2010registration-dossiers/statistics. See www.RTI-Rating.org. See, for example, European Court of Human Rights, Öneryildiz v. Turkey, application No. 48939/99, , 30 November 2004, para. 90. SAICM, Overarching Policy Strategy (see footnote 13 above). See http://apps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/default.aspx. See www.bund.net/themen_und_projekte/chemie/toxfox_der_kosmetikcheck/toxfox_app/. 15