On November 17th, 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) published a notice to consult on the inclusion of 245 chemical substances [1] into the Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (IECSC). The consultation is set to end on November 30th, 2020.
The authority called a halt to IECSC supplementation in November 2011 and reopened it in June 2019 (CL News[2]). Applications for more than 1,500 substances were submitted before the deadline of September 30th, 2019.
The 245 substances are the second batch of substances issued for public consultation after internal review. They were manufactured in or imported into China before October 15th, 2003, which fulfilled the IECSC supplementation criteria but missed the previous supplementation window. The first batch of substances, 156 in total, were included into the IECSC earlier on May 6th this year.
China has been making continued efforts to reinforce its new chemical management framework. The Measures for the Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances (MEE Order No. 12) [3] in April this year and set to replace the MEP Order No. 7 next year. The official Guidance on Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances is expected to come out in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned.
