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On June 13 and June 19, 2025, Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) issued two circulars to further clarify the control measures for 5 groups of chemicals and 9 mercury-added products within the country. They are regulated under the Stockholm Convention, Rotterdam Convention, and Minamata Convention, respectively. To align with the decisions adopted at the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-12) held from April 28 to May 9, 2025, the NEA issued circulars to introduce domestic control measures within Singapore. Highlights are summarized below.
MCCPs, LC-PFCAs and Chlorpyrifos
At the COP-12, the decisions to list these three groups of chemicals in Annex A of the Stockholm Convention for elimination of their production and use, along with some specific exemptions, were adopted. Although the phase-out date has not been finalized under this convention, stakeholders in Singapore are strongly encouraged to take actions to eliminate these chemicals and products containing them.
As Singapore is a party to this international convention, the NEA intends to pre-emptively impose licensing controls on these chemicals under the Environment Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and the Environment Protection and Management (Hazardous Substances) Regulations (EPM (HS) Regs). Licensing requirements are clarified in table below. Detailed list of regulated chemicals can be accessed here (NEA circular updated on June 2020).
Target chemicals | Controlled activities | Licensing controls | Effective date |
MCCPs (chain lengths at least C14 but not exceeding C17)
LC-PFCAs (chain lengths at least C9 but not exceeding C21), their salts and related compounds | Import Export Manufacture Possession for sale Sale, or offer to sell | A Hazardous Substance License will be required. | August 1, 2025 |
Store and use | A Hazardous Substance Permit will be required. | ||
Transportation | A Hazardous Substance Transport Approval will be required, regardless of the quantity. | ||
Chlorpyrifos | NEA has notified WTO of draft amendments to EPMA and EPM (HS) Regs in late April to regulate this chemical at all concentrations and in all preparation forms as hazardous substances (CL news). The official legislative documents are expected to be published soon, and the licensing controls mentioned above will apply. | ||
Carbosulfan and Fenthion Formulations
At the COP-12, the decisions to list these two groups of chemicals in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention were adopted. They are subject to the Prior Informed Consent Procedure (PIC) in international trade. In Singapore, the PIC procedure will apply to the import and export of carbosulfan and fenthion formulations from October 22, 2025. Exporters shall submit the following information to the Chemical Control and Management Department (CCMD) of NEA at least one month before the expected date of export, and every export shall obtain prior approval from CCMD.
Chemical name
Purpose of export (i.e., intended use of chemical)
Details of importer (i.e,. name, address, telephone, fax and email)
Details of exporter (i.e,. name, address, telephone, fax and email)
Export quantity (e.g., number of containers and unit capacity)
Expected date of export
Predicted frequency of export
Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
Shipment documentation (i.e., invoices, bill of lading)
Mercury-added products
The target nine mercury-added products have been agreed to be listed in Annex A of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and they are scheduled to be phased out by the end of 2024. In Singapore, the import, export, and manufacture of the target products will not be allowed from August 1, 2025. Existing stocks of the target products imported before the effective date are allowed to be used and sold locally until depletion.
