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On April 27, 2023, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) published 67 substances with corresponding occupational exposure limits (8-hour OELs and 15-minute OELs).
The list of substances is accessible here.
According to the revised Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health dated on March 31, 2022, a subordinate regulation to the Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL), companies shall implement a self-regulated risk assessment model and take necessary measures to keep workers’ exposure to designated substances within allowable limits. The ministry will begin enforcing this new rule on April 1, 2024.
To smooth the implementation, Japan starts a phased introduction of occupational exposure limits for about 860 chemical substances (CL news), which are selected from the ‘substances that are subject to risk assessment in the workplace’ (namely those subject to mandatory SDSs and labelling obligations under ISHL).
This is the first batch of substances and could be the only batch issued before the April 1, 2024 when the new rule takes effect. The ministry will continue screening substances and publish more batches in the future.
