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On April 2, 2021, South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) published a list of 80 new chemical substances registered and assessed under OSHA from November 2020 to February 2021, of which 27 were identified as hazardous to workers’ health.
The chemical name, CAS No., hazards and annual volume of the new chemical substances can be accessed here[1] (MOEL Announcement No.2021-147), as well as corresponding precautionary measures that must be taken to guarantee workers’ health.
The chemical hazards are determined according to the MoEL Public Notice No.2020-130 Standards for Classification and Labelling of Chemical Substances and Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)[2] based on the toxicity data submitted by registrants. The hazards and risks should be indicated on MSDS and displayed in the workplace.
For some new substances, although there are no hazards indicated in the list, in consideration of long or short-term exposure, employees still need to provide basic measures to protect workers’ health.
In South Korea, companies should register new chemical substances under both K-REACH and OSHA prior to manufacture or import activities. The Ministry of Environment (MoE) is responsible for K-REACH registration and passes the data required under OSHA to the MoEL for assessment. The MoEL will continue to disclose new chemical information registered under OSHA, thereby protecting workers and the general public from such chemicals. The list was last updated in December 2020 (ChemLinked news[3]).
