The new “Act on Safety Management of Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides” (a.k.a “K-BPR”) and the amendments to the “Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals of Korea” (a.k.a “K-REACH”) were passed by South Korea’s cabinet on 8 Aug. The next step is to submit the drafts to the National Assembly for approval.
The Ministry of Environment (MOE) of South Korea finished drafting the K-REACH amendments and the new K-BPR last year and notified the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade under World Trade Organization (WTO) of the two drafts on 9 Jan and 12 Jan 2017 respectively. It is expected that the amended K-REACH will enter into force on 1 July 2018 and the new K-BPR will take effect on 1 Jan 2019. The new requirements will impose greater responsibility on companies manufacturing or importing chemicals and biocide products.
Major contents of K-BPR and changes compared to the current K-REACH legislation have been summarized and reported by ChemLinked. Please click the links below to read more.
It should be noted that the deadline of 30 Jun 2018 for registration of the 510 PECs under current K-REACH regulation will still apply. In addition, a phase-in registration mechanism for around 7000 existing chemical substances (the list is under preparation) will be adopted in the amended K-REACH. The phase-in deadlines will be set based on tonnage band, as below
>1000 t/y; or designated carcinogenic substances above 1 t/y: July 1 of 2019~30 Jun 2021
100-1000 t/y: July 1 of 2021~30 Jun 2024
10-100 t/y: July 1 of 2024~30 Jun 2027
1-10 t/y: July 1 of 2027~30 Jun 2030
South Korea will accelerate the legislative process and establish sound safety management in the use of chemicals and biocide products. ChemLinked will keep a close eye on updates and keep our readers posted.
