South Korea Designates 18 New Toxic Chemicals

18 new substances were listed as toxic chemical substances after hazard evaluation under K-REACH. They are still considered new chemical substances in South Korea and require new chemical registration other than the original registrants. Transitional measures were provided for control of these toxic substances under CCA regulation.

On Oct 15th, 2019, South Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) officially listed 18 toxic chemical substances (Given No. 2019-1-931 ~ 2019-1-948) into the Toxic Chemical Substances List (TCSL). They were registered and found toxic after the hazard evaluation under K-REACH. In addition, the chemical names of three toxic chemical substances (Given No. 97-1-130, 2014-1-695, 2017-1-789) were updated. The updates came into effective immediately.

* Please be noted that toxic chemicals (Given No. 2019-1-931 ~ 2019-1-948, and 2017-1-789) are still considered new chemical substances in South Korea. Manufacturers or importers of these substances (other than the original registrants) should still apply for new chemical registration under K-REACH before manufacture or importation.

The substances details are accessible here^[1].

The transitional measures for the newly designated 18 toxic chemical substances are as below:

Handling of these newly added toxic chemicals is subject to labeling within six months in accordance with Article 16 of CCA
Importers should within six months conduct importation notification according to Article 20 of Chemical Control Act (CCA).
All enterprises handling these newly added toxic chemicals or having installed and operated handling facilities for these toxic chemicals shall prepare within 2 years according to Article 23 Paragraph 1 of CCA an off-site impact analysis report
Manufacture, trade, storage, transport or use of these newly added toxic chemicals is subject to business licensing in accordance with Article 28 of CCA. In addition, stakeholders should comply with the requirements in terms of facilities, equipment and technical personnel qualifications, etc. within two years after the implementation of this announcement to obtain their license.
All enterprises handling these newly added toxic chemicals or having installed and operated handling facilities for these toxic chemicals shall comply with the standards specified in Annex 1 of CCA Enforcement Rules before within one year and shall comply with the standards specified in Annex 5 of CCA Enforcement Rules within 4 years.

* The last update to the TCSL finished in Sep 2019 by NIER Announcement No. 2019-34 (CL news^[2]).