Taiwan Calls on Industry to Catch up “Supplementary Existing Chemical Substance Nomination” by 31 August 2012
18 April 2012, Taiwan’s Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) of the Executive Yuan (Taiwan’s State Council) has issued a direction-like document to call on chemical companies to catch up the “Supplementary Existing Chemical Substance Nomination (ECN)” during the period of June to August 2012.
Taiwan adopts the policy that allows companies to nominate to CLA for chemical substances which had already been placed on the market on a voluntary basis. The first batch of existing substance nomination was completed in December 2010. CLA received altogether 100,000 entries of substances submitted by over 2,000 notifying companies. CLA expected over 30,000 unique substances could be collected. Following this, the CLA has compiled the draft existing chemical substances inventory. In order to keep the inventory up to date, Supplementary ECN is scheduled to open from 1st June to 31st August this year to accept more nominations of existing chemical substances. Relevant nomination tools and complementary measures including the draft ECS inventory will be released in the first week of this coming May.
Taiwan’s Supplementary ECN is very much alike the IECSC Supplementation of China REACH, but the Chinese IECSC Supplementation has been cancelled since 18 November 2011.
Starting this May, Taiwan will also hold a series of training sessions to provide potential nominators with necessary resources for Supplementary ECN.
Taiwan’s New Chemical Substance Notification
Similar to China’s New Chemical Substance Notification (China REACH), Taiwan also introduced in 2009 a regulation on registration and management for new chemical substances manufactured in and imported to Taiwan. The law requires companies which import, manufacture, handle, use or sell chemical substances not listed in the ECS Inventory to fulfill their obligations of notification with the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) under the Executive Yuan.
Taiwan’s new chemical registration system has three types, depending on tonnage and relevant toxicological properties:
Informing obligation for new substances at the tonnage of 10 – 100 kg/a
Simplified Notification obligation for new substances or polymers at the tonnage of 0.1 – 1 t/a
Full Notification obligation for new substances or polymers at the tonnage of over 1 t/y and new substances between 0.1 – 1 t/a but classified as CMR or aquatic chronic toxic substance Class 1 in accordance with the UN GHS.
