On September 27, 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labor of South Korea (MoEL) promulgated the partial revision to the Enforcement Rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The revised Article 162 stipulates that manufacturers and importers are allowed to directly use alternative chemical names and content ranges for CBI-protected substances to prepare the MSDS for a mixture containing them.
As the grace period for existing products in the 10-100 ton/y range is set to expire on January 16, 2024, many businesses have submitted large-scale CBI non-disclosure applications. In light of this, the MoEL revised the regulations based on the actual audits of these applications.
This revision is good news for businesses, as it eliminates the need for duplicate CBI non-disclosure applications during hazard information communication, resulting in reduced costs and time expenditure
For example:
Product X contains substances A, B and C, with substance A already obtained CBI non-disclosure approval. When the same company or its upstream/downstream companies physically mix substance A to produce Product Y without chemical reactions, the CBI non-disclosure approval number and validity period of substance A can be directly used to prepare MSDS for Product Y. Alternative name and content range of substance A can be used in Section 3 of the MSDS to protect trade secrets, with the CBI non-disclosure approval number and validity period indicated.
