On April 16, 2021, the Japanese Cabinet passed a partial revision to the Enforcement Ordinance of the Chemical Substance Control Law (CSCL) [1]. The revision is set to take effect starting from October 22 this year.
The key points in the revision include:
Ø O,p'- dicofol (used for pesticides) and PFOA and its salts (used for water repellents, etc.) are added into the list of Class I Specified Chemical Substances;
Ø A total of 13 kinds of products, including water repellents, which use PFOA and its salts are designated as Products Prohibited from Importation;
Ø Fire extinguishers, fire-extinguishing agents used in fire extinguishers and foam fire-extinguishing agents which use PFOA and its salts are designated as Products that Must Meet National Technical Standards.
Notably, for Class I Specified Chemical Substances under the CSCL, prior permission for essential uses (specified by the Cabinet Order) is required, and the other uses are basically prohibited.
The revision is aimed at keeping aligned with the decision adopted at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants earlier in 2019.
