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A list of 950 substances to be appended into the South Korea’s Existing Chemical Inventory (KECI) was issued by the Ministry of Environment (MoE) on 12 May, following a public consultation due by 1 Jun 2015. If approved, the KECI will be updated to a total of 44,289 existing chemical substances.
New chemical substances already assessed between 1 Jan 2012 and 31 Dec 2014 (subject to the date of receiving hazard examination result) under TCCA that haven’t been published on the Official Gazette should be regarded as “new” in principle. However, a policy benefiting the original notifier was issued by the MoE recently under which the original notifiers was allowed to inform the MoE before 17 Mar 2015 if they wish to change the status of a notified new chemical substances from “new” to “existing” in advance regardless of the “three-year rule” for inclusion of notified new chemical substances into the KECI.
The 950 substances comprise two parts.
New chemical substances assessed under TCCA between 1 Jan 2012 and 31 Mar 2014 (71 substances, KE No. 2015-3-6167 ~ 2015-3-6238), which already meet the “three-year rule” and are published accordingly
New chemical substances assessed under TCCA between 1 Apr 2012 and 31 Dec 2014 (878 substances, KE No. 2015-3-6239 ~ 2015-3-7116), which were informed to the MoE before 17 Mar 2015 and accepted for KECI inclusion in advance
It should be noted that 878 chemicals listed above are not the total number of new chemical substances assessed under TCCA between 1 Apr 2012 and 31 Dec 2014. Some original notifiers were opposed to any change in regulatory status of their new chemical substances due to the commercial benefits. In cases where two different opinions occurred among the original notifiers of the same new chemical substance, the MoE will not publish it as existing in advance and the “three-year rule” should still be followed.
For new substances assessed under TCCA between 1 Apr 2012 and 31 Dec 2014 which haven’t been published at this time, only the original applicants under TCCA will be exempt from new chemical registration after they notify to the NIER before 30 Jun 2015 to obtain registration No. under K-REACH. All other potential registrants should register under K-REACH without delay. In cases where the volume (manufacture/import) increases over the notified tonnage band, a modified registration is required.
Confirmation of substance status is essential for making a registration strategy and cost calculation. For instance, (1) all new chemical substances should be registered, while for existing chemical registration only PEC substances designated by the MoE are applied to; (2) All new chemical substances should be registered without delay, while PEC substances have been granted a three-year grace period after the actual publication date; (3) All new chemical substances should submit the annual report, while for existing chemical substances only those at or above 1 t/y should be reported. Stakeholders are highly recommended to check and confirm the status of their substances to avoid unnecessary work or disruption of trade etc.
Any comments on the 950 substances can be submitted to the MoE via E-mail ([email protected] , [email protected]) or by fax (044-201-6786).
