On May 15th, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) issued the Amendment to Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act for consultation, which will end on June 14th.
The amendment added 2 poisonous substances and 1 deleterious substance under the control scheme, while 2 former deleterious substances are deleted.
Table 1 - Newly designated poisonous and deleterious substances
| Chemical name | CAS No. | Main uses (informative) |
Poisonous substance | 1-Chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene | 97-00-7 | Reagent for alkylation, aromatization or replacement reaction, to produce colorants, anti-mildew agents, etc. |
Phenylchloroformate | 1885-14-9 | Reagent for synthesis as a polymerization catalyst, to modify plastics, treat fibers, manufacture pharmaceutics and agrochemicals | |
Deleterious substance | 1,2-Benzenediol | 120-80-9 | Used to manufacture flavors, polymerization inhibitor, antioxidant, pharmaceutics, agrochemicals, etc. |
Table 2 – Substances deleted from the Deleterious Substance List
Chemical name | CAS No. | Main uses (informative) |
Cyclohexanecarboxamide,N-[4-(cyanomethyl)phenyl]-5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)- | 852379-28-3 | Flavor enhancer |
(4Z)-4-Dodecenenitrile | 1071801-01-8 | Raw material for perfume |
The final amended Act is due for promulgation in late June and will enter into force on July 1st. The cancellation of these organic cyanides designated as deleterious substances will take effect upon its promulgation.
