Australia Adopts Prohibitions and Restrictions on Dechlorane Plus and UV-328

Updates:

Recently, the proposed scheduling decisions for five chemicals under the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Instrument 2022 were adopted:

“Dechlorane Plus®” and “UV-328” are included in IChEMS Register Schedule 6.
"β-Alanine, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-[2-[(1-oxooctyl)amino]ethyl]-" is included in IChEMS Register Schedule 3.
“Melamine” and “Boric acid and its precursors” are included in IChEMS Register Schedule 2.

For “Dechlorane Plus®” and “UV-328”, strict risk management measures apply. The latest scheduling decisions can be searched here. The search results provide control measures to manage the environmental risks of listed chemicals as well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previous article (April 19, 2024):

The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is currently soliciting public comments on the proposed scheduling decisions for five chemicals under the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS). Feedback is welcome before May 13, 2024.

Two of these chemicals, namely “Dechlorane Plus®” and “UV-328”, are internationally agreed to be of the highest concern and have been included in Annex A (Elimination) under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Improper management of these chemicals may result in significant harm to the environment. Therefore, they are proposed for inclusion in IChEMS Register Schedule 6. Strict risk management measures will apply, including prohibitions and restrictions on these two chemicals' import, export, manufacture, and use (whether on their own or in mixtures/articles). The draft decisions are expected to be in force on July 1, 2026. Notably, certain uses outlined in the table below are considered essential and could be exempted from the proposed risk control measures.

Chemical name

CAS number

Proposed exemption and period

Dechlorane Plus®

13560-89-9

135821-03-3

135821-74-8

aerospace and space applications (until 1 July - 2031); or
defence applications (to be reviewed by the department after 1 July 2031); or
replacement parts, where the chemical was originally used in the manufacture of those parts, for:
i. aerospace and space applications (until the end of the service life of the articles or 1 July 2044, whichever comes earlier); or
ii. defence applications (until the end of the service life of the articles, subject to review by the department after 1 July 2044); or
iii. motor vehicles (until the end of the service life of the articles or 1 July 2044, whichever comes earlier); or
iv. stationary industrial machines for use in agriculture, forestry and construction (until the end of the service life of the articles or 1 July 2044, whichever comes earlier); or
v. marine, garden, forestry and outdoor power equipment (until the end of the service life of the articles or 1 July 2044, whichever comes earlier); or
vi. in-vitro diagnostic devices (until the end of the service life of the articles, subject to review by the department after 1 July 2041); or
vii. instruments for analysis, measurements, control, monitoring, testing, production and inspection (until the end of the service life of the articles or 1 July 2044, whichever comes earlier).

UV-328

25973-55-1

motor vehicles (until 1 July 2031); or
industrial coating applications for automotive coating, engineering machine coating, rail transit coating, and heavy-duty coating for large steel structures (until 1 July 2031); or
tri-acetyl cellulose (TAC) film in polarisers (until 1 July 2031); or
photographic paper (until 1 July 2031); or
replacement parts, where the chemical was originally used in the manufacture of those parts, for:
i. motor vehicles (until the end of the service life of the articles or 1 July 2044, whichever comes earlier); or
ii. stationary industrial machines for use in agriculture, forestry and construction (until 1 July 2044); or
iii. liquid crystal displays in in-vitro diagnostic devices (to be reviewed by the department after 1 July 2041); or
iv. liquid crystal displays in instruments for analysis, measurements, control, monitoring, testing, production and inspection (until 1 July 2044).

The remaining three chemicals, namely “melamine”, “boric acid and its precursors”, and “β-Alanine, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-[2-[(1- oxooctyl)amino]ethyl]-” are considered to pose lower risk to the environment (even unlikely to cause harm to the environment). They are proposed for inclusion in IChEMS Register Schedule 2 or 3.

The proposals are shown below. If you have any comments on the draft decisions, please refer to the consultation hub here.

Chemical name	CAS number	Draft decision	Consultation paper
Dechlorane Plus®	13560-89-9 135821-03-3 135821-74-8	Schedule 6	Proposed scheduling decision for Dechlorane Plus®
UV-328	25973-55-1	Schedule 6	Proposed scheduling decision for UV-328
β-Alanine, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-[2-[(1-oxooctyl)amino]ethyl]-	64265-45-8	Schedule 3	Proposed scheduling decision for β-Alanine
Melamine	108-78-1	Schedule 2	Proposed scheduling decision for melamine
Boric acid and its precursors	10043-35-3 11113-50-1 13460-51-0 12008-41-2 1303-96-4	Schedule 2	Proposed scheduling decision for boric acid and its precursors

The last IChEMS scheduling decisions were made on December 18, 2023 (CL news), covering PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PeCB, HBCDD, SCCPs, etc. The latest scheduling decisions can be searched here.

Background

IChEMS is a national approach to managing chemical use, storage, handling and disposal in Australia, which will provide more consistent regulation and make it easier for the industry to choose less harmful chemicals. As per the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act, industrial chemicals circulated in Australia will be listed on the IChEMS Register in 7 schedules based on their environmental risks. Schedule 7 chemicals are of the highest concern and pose the greatest risk to the environment. They are typically prohibited or severely restricted. Schedule 1 chemicals are of the lowest risk.

Source: IChEMS Website