Deputy Director Zhang Hongzhe from NRCC-SAWS at Shanghai CRAC on 22 Oct, 2013.
As the open consultation of the draft Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals is coming to an end, a heated discussion arises arguing whether DEHP, a widely used plasticizer, should be listed into the final version.
An article circulated on the Internet mentioned that di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP, CAS: 117-81-7) was listed in the 12th Five-Year Chemical Blacklist but didn’t show up in the draft Inventory, which leads to the doubt among the public on the adequacy of environmental concerns in the formulation of the Inventory. The same question was put forward to Deputy Director Zhang Hongzhe from NRCC-SAWS during the 2013 CRAC in Shanghai after his presentation on Oct 22nd, 2013.
China SAWS plays a leading role in formulating the Inventory. Its expertise in the field of physical hazards of chemicals determines its lack of attention on the health and environment hazards. Obviously DEHP is hardly concerned as a dangerous substance due to its physical properties. However, Director Zhang pointed out that the harm to human body caused by its illegal use as food additive (referring to the 2011 Taiwan food scandal) is quite a different story due to its CMR property. Director Zhang claimed that DEHP will not be added to the final Inventory, from his personal perspective.
The inventory of hazardous chemicals serves as the key reference for the hazardous chemicals registration system stipulated in Order 53. The release of the official version in the near future will be consulted when List of Hazardous Chemicals under Priority Management, Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals of Priority Environmental Concern (HCPEC), Inventory of Highly Toxic Chemical and other Hazardous Chemicals Prohibited for Transport on Inner Waterway are formulated by various ministries. (Chemlinked Expert Article: Overview of Hazardous Chemicals Management in China).
In many other countries/regions, the usage of DEHP is limited or under strict control (e.g. prohibited in manufacturing toys in Taiwan, its concentration in workplace is limited to 5 mg/m3 in U.S.). Meanwhile, it should be noted that a homologous substance of DEHP, diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP, CAS: 84-69-5) is already in the draft Inventory. Even if DEHP itself is not listed in the Inventory, when new findings show that it has significant hazards in certain exposure scenarios, the competent authorities will take action accordingly.
