On 19 Apr 2013, Japanese Cabinet approved the Bill for the Act for Partial Revision of the Act on Ensuring the Implementation of Recovery and Destruction of Fluorocarbons concerning Designated Products.
The revised Act is renamed to be the Act for Rationalized Use and Proper Management of Fluorocarbons, which concerns the complete life cycle of fluorocarbons from cradle to grave. The following entities should pay particular attention to the new Act as additional or stricter obligations have been imposed accordingly:
Manufacturers and importers of fluorocarbons
Manufacturers and importers of products containing fluorocarbons
Users of commercial products containing fluorocarbons
Technicians and recycling parties of the products containing fluorocarbons
The effective of the revised Act is yet to be determined by the Cabinet and a Cabinet Order will be issued within two years upon approval of the Act.
As chemicals in the fluorocarbons family such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are related to ozone-depleting or greenhouse effects or both, there seems to be a trend in Asian countries such as Korea and China to intensify fluorocarbons management (e.g. ChemLinked news release 7 Feb 2013). An increasing number and more stringent regulations regarding this field are expected in the future and the stakeholders of the air polluting chemicals may actively engage in adopting environmental friendly substations as well as green technologies.
