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On November 30th, 2020, Mr. Chen Jun, official from the National Registration Center for Chemicals (NRCC) of the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), articulated informative responses to the solicited comments on the proposed revisions to the Implementation Guidance of the 2015 Inventory of Hazardous Chemicals [1] during the CRAC-HCF 2020 [2] by REACH24H.
Mr. Chen reviewed the background and rationales of the proposed revision, which was released in August this year, and detailed major adjustments made in it (see CL news [3] for more details).
He noted that the consultation held among emergency management administrations at various levels as well as central enterprises and industry associations, collected more than 200 pieces of comments and recommendations, over 70 of which concerned the hazard classification of chemicals.
He then listed five most talked about comments and responded to each one of them as these comments are some of the greatest concerns to the industry.
First Comment:
Some regional authorities expressed misgivings about the exemption granted to automobile diesel fuels with a grade of -10# or above.
In the 2015 Implementation Guidance, an enterprise which engages in manufacture and/or operations of diesel fuels is regulated as a hazardous chemical enterprise (unless the close cup flash point of every batch is higher than 60°C). The draft revision deletes this statement, and instead stipulates that automobile diesel fuels with a grade of -10# or above are not subject to the Inventory, while those with a grade of -20# or below are regulated as hazardous chemicals in the Inventory.
The dissenting comments held that the exemption may cause difficulties in regulatory practices. For instance, some entities or individuals could disguise gasoline as diesel fuels to get around regulatory curbs.
Response to First Comment:
Mr. Chen noted that the worries in this regard make sense, and that the authority will extensively listen to the suggestions and recommendations, so as to make informed policies upon careful consideration.
Second Comment:
The draft revision provides that for any mixture, where its major ingredients are all listed in the Inventory and the combined content of such ingredients is no less than 70%, the mixture should be considered as a hazardous chemical listed in the Inventory. But the definition of “major ingredients” is not explicitly stated in the Guidance.
Response to Second Comment:
Mr. Chen said that the authority has noticed the widespread concerns over the definition of “major ingredients”. There is a strong possibility that the term of “major ingredients” will not be used in the future version of the Implementation Guidance, which means that for any mixture, as long as its ingredients which are listed in the Inventory make up a share of no less than 70% in the total, it will be regulated as a hazardous chemical listed in the Inventory. The authority will further solicit comments on adjustments made in this regard.
Third Comment:
Some businesses recommended that lower limits be set for the concentration of solutions like those of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, orthophosphoric acid, methanol, etc.
Response to third comment:
Mr. Chen noted that the authority is currently mulling over appropriate lower limits set for the concentration of common solutions. The adjustment is expected to meet the demands of most businesses involved while ensuring safety.
Fourth Comment:
Some businesses demanded exemption granted to household chemicals and consumer goods like cosmetics containing flammable liquids and alcohol-based sanitizers.
Response to fourth comment:
According to Mr. Chen, many of household chemicals and consumer goods are included in the Entry No. 2828, a generic entry that covers all preparations containing flammable solutions and with flash points below 60°C. Products included in the entry are subject to licensing management.
In practice, however, it is quite difficult, and also unreasonable, to require entities which engage in the distribution of such products, such as retail stores and supermarkets, to apply for licensing approval. But for the time being, the authority deems it inappropriate to grant exemption to such products in the Implementation Guidance. Mr. Chen stated that adjustments could be made to relevant administrative licensing documents to put such exemption in place or ease relevant requirements.
Fifth Comment:
Many of the comments and recommendations the MEM received were about the Classification Information Sheet.
Response to Fifth comment:
Most comments in this regard were submitted by foreign-funded enterprises, which were more concerned about hazard classification of chemicals. Mr. Chen pointed out some problems in the comments collected, including the lack of diversified data sources to support their recommendations. He pledged that the authority will comprehensively consider the comments which are supported by solid data and rationales.
Mr. Chen expected that the official version of the revision will come out next year at the earliest, and that another round of public consultation will be opened before its publication.
