Taiwan Promulgates Revised Labelling and SDS Regulation for Toxic and Concerned Chemical

Taiwan EPA published the new Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Labelling and SDS Regulation. The revised Regulation will come into effect on January 16, 2020, the same implementation date as Taiwan TCCSCA.

The amendments of the Toxic Chemical Substances Labelling and SDS Regulation, renamed as the Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Labelling and SDS Regulation^[1] (hereafter referred to as the Regulation) was promulgated by Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on January 13, 2020.

The Regulation is revised according to Article 17 and Article 27 of the revised Toxic and Chemical Substances of Concern Control Act^[2](TCCSCA). The Regulation will be effective from January 16, 2020, while the updates for Article 3 and Article 12 will take effect one year later.

The significant changes include:

1. Revise Article 3 to add that precautions for chemicals of concern shall be added on the label, e.g., avoid inhalation, consumption or direct skin contact, prohibit use in food and feed, etc.

2. Add a new Article 4 to specify that the label elements can be provided on fold-out labels, tie-on tags, and outer packaging if the container/packaging of a substance or mixture is very small or in such a shape or form it is impossible to display the label elements in line with the Taiwan GHS requirements.

3. Delete the previous Article 8 for performing marking of vessels, aircraft, or transport vehicles carrying toxic chemical substances since the requirements will be stipulated in other regulations.

4. Revise Article 9 to specify that a placard shall be installed for toxic chemicals and chemicals of concern.

5. Revise Article 12 to specify that SDS shall be reviewed at least once every three years and kept properly for future inspections.

6. Revise Article 15 to add provisions that it is acceptable to prepare a single SDS for mixtures of the same hazardous components, uses, and hazard properties, although the concentration of toxic chemicals/chemicals of concern are different.

7. Add Article 18 that the labeling and SDS shall be provided using traditional Chinese characters as standard, and foreign languages as a supplement if necessary to be aligned with MoL's Regulations for the Labeling and Hazard Communication of Hazardous Chemicals.