On August 26th, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) issued a notice [1] announcing restrictions on the import of products containing mercury from January 1st, 2021. The products that will be restricted include switches, relays, non-electronic measuring devices such as barometers, hygrometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers, etc.
To keep the regulations consistent with the requirements in the Minamata Convention on Mercury [2], which is a global treaty signed by 50 countries to reduce mercury emissions and use, Taiwan EPA has incorporated some restrictions on the operation of mercury into the Categories and Management of Handling for Toxic Chemical Substance [3]. On July 5th, 2019, EPA issued an amendment to the regulation, with bans for manufactured mercury-added products including fluorescent lamps, batteries, switches in addition to the products mentioned above, which would be implemented from 2021. (ChemLinked News [4])
In addition to the prohibition on the manufacturing of mercury-added products, according to the notice the import of such products is also scheduled to be prohibited from 2021 aiming to comprehensively strengthen the management of mercury in Taiwan and protect the public and environment from hazards. However, for any of the following circumstances, the import of mercury-added products shall be permitted after a review by authorities:
Products that are necessary for civilian or for military use;
Products for research, instrument calibration purposes or as a reference standard;
Products, like switches, relays, or non-electronic measuring devices that have no suitable mercury-free alternative products available.
Besides the conditions above, products containing mercury which are used for high-precision measuring instruments shall also be exempted from this prohibition.
Taiwan has regulated mercury as a Class 1 toxic chemical substance since 1991, specifying permitted and prohibited uses. EPA emphasizes that the tightened management will have limited impact on the industry since the operation volume in Taiwan has already been reduced and most enterprises have already introduced substitutes by now.
