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On March 15, 2022, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) issued an announcement to bring forward the implementation of some rules that were proposed in the amendments to K-REACH Enforcement Rules. Below are the details.
Two kinds of environmental hazard test data, i.e., fish or daphnia acute toxicity test data and rapid degradability data, may be omitted for the registration if the new chemical substance is manufactured or imported<1 t/y and falls into either of the following two conditions:
a) Water solubility is < 1mg/liter; or
b) Be used only for intermediates and process regulators purposes.
*Note 1: Data on physicochemical properties and hazards to human health shall not be omitted even if the above conditions are met.
Importers in South Korea can apply for the exemption confirmation (exempted from providing chemical name and CAS No.) if the substance/mixture meets the following conditions:
a) Imported<0.1 t/y for R&D purposes;
b) Non-hazardous; and
c) Overseas suppliers who have CBI concerns are unwilling to provide chemical name and CAS No., but the corresponding MSDS is provided.
*Note 2: For hazardous substances, even if they are used for R&D purposes, the substance name and CAS number shall not be omitted.
The amendments to K-REACH Enforcement Rules are still under consultation (due by March 30, 2022) and are expected to come into force in October this year if adopted (CL news). However, considering the difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the relevant compliance, the foregoing rules have been implemented since March 16, 2022 ahead of the schedule.
According to the MoE, through such rapid adoption, the authority expects to relieve the compliance burden on SMEs and motivate R&D. It will save 20 million won in registration costs for about 50% SMEs who manufactured or imported chemicals substances<1 t/y.
The original official document is accessible here.
