Request a Demo
China has long been practicing chemical management based on chemical lists. Regulatory measures are imposed to a very limited selection of chemicals with well recognized hazardous information. However, many workplace accidents have occurred due to lack of preventative and controlling measures against chemicals with unknown hazards. Realizing the importance of regulating chemicals outside of chemical lists China’s policymakers have reached a critical juncture with the establishment and pending implementation of a new Hazchem registration scheme under SAWS Order 53 (2012) and a physical hazard identification scheme under SAWS Order 60 (2013).
How will the forthcoming mandatory physical hazard identification affect hazardous chemical registration? When will the final Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals come out? I have hundreds of products to be registered; can I apply for serial registration? This article addresses these FAQs and provides advisory solutions.
1. The relationship between Hazchem registration & physical hazard identification
The physical hazard identification defined in SAWS Order 60 is established by performing a set of tests to determine a chemical’s hazardous properties such as flammability, explosiveness, corrosiveness, etc., thus helping to determine whether it is subject to Hazchem registration in China. On the other hand, according to SAWS Order 53 for hazardous chemicals, information including the GHS classifications and labelling information, physical and chemical properties, the physical, health and environmental hazards, etc. all need to be registered. More often than not, unclassified hazardous chemicals, (especially mixtures) lack the technical data required for registration if it hasn’t already been tested as a whole. As such the two regulatory schemes complement each other.
As the full implementation of SAWS Order 60 will commence imminently after the list of the accredited institutes is made public (see CL news), a chemical will be exempted from Hazchem registration only when:
The chemical is listed in the Catalogue of Chemicals Exempted from Physical Hazard Identification as a non-hazardous chemical; or
The NRCC has issued a certificate indicating the chemical is identified to be non-hazardous and exempted from Hazchem registration.
Analysis: According to REACH2H experts’ experience, it usually takes 45 days to obtain the registration certificate after successful submission of required materials. If chemical companies haven’t applied for Hazchem registration before Dec 2014 but need to get the registration certificate in 2015, they may have to conduct physical hazard identification and should make an appointment with the accredited identification institutes as soon as possible. It’s predictable that once the name list of qualified institutes is issued, demands for identification testing will soar and exceed national capacity – (there are expected to be on average 2 identification institutes in each province).
2. Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals & Catalogue of Chemicals Exempted from Physical Hazard Identification
In recent news it was announced that China’s Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals may be available by the end of 2014 or early 2015, and should coincide with the scheduled issuance of the identification institute name list. Chemicals in the final Inventory are sure to be in the scope of Hazchem registration and manufacture/import/use licensing and exempt from physical hazard identification due to their well-recognized physical hazards.
Unlike the multi-ministerial and cross-sectorial Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals, the Catalogue of Chemicals Exempted from Physical Hazard Identification will be announced and managed by SAWS independently and will only affect the physical hazard identification under SAWS Order 60. The exemption catalogue consists of two parts:
Hazardous chemicals with known physical hazards (≥ Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals)
Non-hazardous chemicals
The annual reporting to SAWs by identification institutes will serve as a mechanism for the authorities to decide which chemicals should be the candidates for inclusion into the Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals and subject to heightened administrative control measures in the future.
Analysis: There’s a common misunderstanding among industry stakeholders that it is not possible to conduct Hazchem registration or hazard identification unless the relevant chemical inventories have been released. Actually these lists are just references and most of the chemicals included will be pure substances. Without these lists, chemical companies still can set about relevant compliance work based on their own judgments and self-classification results. If there is scant existing data on the chemical, chemical companies should plan ahead to leave enough time for hazard identification.
3. Serial registration & serial identification
According to SAWS Order 53, there’s no such concept as “serial Hazchem registration”. Only chemical products with the same chemical name (e.g. in different packages) can be registered under one record.
Serial identification can be applied to chemicals with similar composition, usage and physical hazards based on the consensus of the chemical company and the identification institute.
Analysis: If a company has hundreds of thousands of products subject to Hazchem registration, no shortcut can be taken. We suggest such companies can initiate the compliance work by setting up a step-by-step plan and prioritizing several products for initial registration.
Every Hazchem registration certificate is attached with an inventory of the registered chemicals. The certificate and the registration records is sufficient evidence to provide authorities to support a claim that the company is making efforts to fulfill all regulatory obligations.
A prioritization strategy may be developed by ranking products as follows:
The product is scheduled to be imported to or manufactured/used in China shortly.
The product is subject to administrative licensing or is hazardous and thus likely to face compliance requirements in China.
The product is of the greatest market value or in large quantities.
Other specific reasons.
This strategy may also be applied to the hazard identification obligation. Adopting effective, robust and reliable compliance strategies and timely communication with the competent authorities or the review panels are also key elements to increase compliance efficiency and save money.
Afterword:
China’s immense chemical industry poses unique problems for management of chemical risks. Regulatory schemes like hazard identification and Hazchem registration were created and promoted to collect data from enterprises as they have a broader knowledge and better understanding of the substances they’re dealing with. The fundamental message from authorities to industry is that chemicals must be safe and for higher risk substances higher financial requirements will be attached in order to hopefully promote chemical substitution.
