Alissa Sasso is a Chemicals Policy Fellow. Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
China is on a steady path toward improved chemicals management, one that in many ways increasingly resembles the policies of the European Union’s REACH regulation. On July 11th, China’s State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) finalized and published its “Measures for the Administration of the Registration of Hazardous Substances,” which became effective August 1st. The new rule applies to all existing substances in China’s Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals and is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the primary legislation on the management of hazardous chemicals, known as Decree 591.
The new rule, an update of the initial rule from 2002, complements earlier regulatory steps taken to address new chemicals. A description of the major changes to the registration process, compiled by the consulting group REACH24H, is available here. Below we’ve highlighted and provided a summary of the most significant requirements under the new Measures (and those most relevant to the U.S. chemical industry):
- Extension to importers
- Enhanced data requirements
- Expansion of chemicals subject to registration