Taiwan is to establish the Bureau of Toxics and Chemical Substances under the Taiwan EPA by the end of 2016. This Bureau will be staffed by 95 employees. In the future the development and implementation of new rules, regulations and downstream supervision associated with chemical registration and toxic chemical management will be undertaken by this new bureau.
According to the provisional Organization Rules of the Bureau, issued on 5 Oct 2016, the bureau will be responsible for
(1) New and existing chemical registration management,
(2) Toxic substances management,
(3) Chemical accident and emergency response,
(4) Environmental agent management
(5) Chemical Information integration and application,
(6) Technology research and development for toxic substances,
(7) International cooperation and harmonization in chemical management,
(8) Other issues related to toxics and chemical substances
Taiwan has been planning to establish a Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection to replace the current Environmental Protection Administration for some years although it still hasn’t realized this goal. According to the Article 6 of the Organization Rules, the bureau will be abolished when the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection is formed.
