China REACH: An Introduction

On October 15th 2010, a REACH- style regulation ‘Measures for the Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances’ or ‘China REACH’, came into effect, under the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). China’s update of its regulation follows other countries which are moving towards a more comprehensive evaluation and tracking of chemical substances.

The aim of the regulation, according to Article 1, is to control the risk that new chemical substances pose to the environment, to ensure public health and safety and to protect the environment.

In order to meet these aims, new substances manufactured or imported in China need to be notified with the Chemical Registration Centre (CRC) in Beijing before they are placed on the Chinese market. Companies are not permitted to engage in manufacturing or import activities without first obtaining a notification certificate. As non-Chinese companies cannot directly notify, they are required to appoint a Chinese representative agent (similar to the Only Representative under EU REACH) to complete the notification on their behalf. Companies or Chinese representative agents must also follow the post-notification obligations and duties such as hazard communication down the supply chain.

During the notification process, the hazardous properties of the chemicals are assessed and then categorized to determine appropriate risk control measures. It is the responsibility of the certificate holder to ensure the post-notification obligations are carried out.

The regulation is an update of the previous measures for the new substances which came into effect in 2003. The update moves towards a more REACh- style registration and tracking of chemicals and reflects a general trend in the management of chemicals in Asia. Due to sweeping impact of the implementation of REACh in Europe, other countries such as Japan and Korea have also re-evaluated the management of chemical substances in their countries.