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On August 20, 2021, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) listed ammonium nitrate and hydrogen fluoride as concerned chemicals. The handlers shall obtain approval for their manufacture, import, sale, use, storage, etc. and report monthly online for their handlings. Meanwhile, the online sale is prohibited. The accident prevention and emergency response regulations shall be followed. In addition, the commercially available HFCS products must be labelled to prevent accidents caused by improper use.
To enhance the prevention of safety and health hazards resulting from the improper use of ammonium nitrate and hydrofluoric acid, the “Five Do's and Two Dont's'” management strategy was adopted. The handling of The Five Do's are: “Do Approve,” “Do Label,” “Do Record Each Item Online,”“Do Report Monthly,” and “Do Prevent and Respond to Accidents.” The Two Dont's' are: “Don't Sell Online” and “Don't Handle without Approval".
According to the EPA, commercially available products made of hydrogen fluoride, such as aluminum cleaning agent, exterior wall cleaning agent and limescale cleaning agent, contain hydrogen fluoride at a concentration of less than 10%. Lack of knowledge about it often leads to its misuse by the public, which can be harmful to people’s health. Therefore, the management of hydrofluoric acid shall be strengthened. Containers and packaging of products with a concentration of hydrogen fluoride of more than 0.1% and less than 10% must comply with the labeling requirements, The minimum label size for the packaging has been regulated to ensure that it is clear and legible. Besides, hydrogen fluoride with a concentration of 10% or more must apply for approval because of its high risk to humans. Approval shall be obtained not only for factory use, but also for the sales channels for chemical raw materials of hydrofluoric acid.
Due to the properties of ammonium nitrate and hydrogen fluoride, they are announced as hazardous concerned chemical substances. If the handling quantity exceeds designated graded handling quantity, the handlers shall, in accordance with the accident prevention and emergency response provisions of the Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Control Act, submit hazard prevention and response plans, take out liability insurance, train professional personnel, establish a mutual aid group, equip emergency response, detection and alarm equipment, and declare transport manifests to further strengthen the management of the two substances.
Existing handlers will be given a buffer period to comply with the new requirements. For example, the approval for the manufacture, import, sale, use, storage, etc,. of ammonium nitrate shall be obtained before August 1, 2022, and hydrogen fluoride before February 1, 2023. From October 1, 2021, handlers with changes in the handling quantity of ammonium nitrate are required to keep handling records online and report them monthly, and those with changes in the handling quantity of hydrogen fluoride are required to do so from February 1, 2022. More details can be found in the attached table[1]. If a handler starts to handle ammonium nitrate or hydrofluoric acid after the announced date, buffer period does not apply.
The EPA also imposes heavy fines for violation of the regulations:
·Failure to handle ammonium nitrate and hydrogen fluoride in accordance with the regulations will result in a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000. In the case of causing death or endangering human health, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment or more than 7 years in prison, with the maximum fine of NT$10,000,000.
·Failure to comply with the regulations of emergency prevention and response will result in a fine of NT$ 30,000 to NT$500,000; failure to take out third-party liability insurance or to set up emergency response equipment and detection alarm equipment in accordance with the regulations will result in a fine of NT$1 million to NT$5 million.
