In March 2017, ChemADVISOR Asia joined the Cleaning and Material Protection (CAMP) Committee of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF). The CAMP Committee was formed in 2015 under the SMF’s Energy and Chemicals Industry Group to spearhead initiatives in addressing the safety, quality and standards of cleaning and material protection products.Commenting on the participation, Andrew Dsida, ChemADVISOR’s President, said: “We are delighted to have joined SMF and we are honoured to be a part of the CAMP Committee. We look forward to working with the members in furthering the aims of the Committee. With the existing knowledge base that we have in ChemADVISOR, we believe we are well-poised to help in areas such as promoting the awareness and building the capacity for overcoming chemical regulatory challenges that member companies may face.”More information on the Singapore Manufacturing Federation can be found at: http://www.smfederation.org.sg

by Weisin ChaiOn December 29, 2016, Taiwan released the Draft Labeling Criteria for Consumer Chemical Products for public comment. The Draft Labeling Criteria for Consumer Chemical Products was enacted in accordance to Article 11 of the Commodity Labeling Act.Consumer chemical products, in this standard, refers to chemical products entering the market for display or for sale, and posing physical, health or environmental hazard risks while being used by consumers.The following label elements are required for chemical products in general:Product name;Manufacturer or appointed manufacturing company's name, address and telephone numbers;For imported products, include the importer's or agent's or dealer's name, address and telephone numbers;Product's place of origin;Main ingredients (if ingredient contributes to major functions of the products, i.e. perfume essences);Product's net weight, volume or other measurements;Manufacturing date and valid dates or valid periods.Other products that possess physical, health or environmental hazards, shall contain the following additional information on the label:Hazard ingredients;Hazard classification, hazard pictogram, signal word, and hazard statements in reference to the Appendix of the Standards, which is aligned with the Taiwan National Standards of the Republic of China (CNS) 15030 on Classification and Labelling of Chemicals;Precautionary statements;Flash point, for flammable liquid products.The information mentioned shall be attached on the product, inside or outside of the package, or in the manual.Hazard pictogram shall provide the symbol in black, with a white background and red border. The size of the pictogram is not specified. A size with an adequate warning effect will be sufficient.This standard is expected to be effective in two years after it is approved and announced. For further details of the Standard, readers may refer to the websites below.References:Taiwan Draft Labeling Criteria for Consumer Chemical Products (available in Chinese (Traditional) only): http://gazette.nat.gov.tw/EG_FileManager/eguploadpub/eg023001/ch04/type3/gov31/num13/Eg.htmTaiwan Commodity Labeling Act (available in English): http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=J0080011Taiwan National Standards of the Republic of China (CNS) 15030 on Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (available in Chinese (Traditional) only) (available for purchase): http://www.cnsonline.com.tw/

by Lily Hou, PhD, CHMMOn March 28, 2017, the National Standardization Technical Committee on Consumer Product Safety of China published the draft version of a Chinese National Standard, Safety Requirements for Hazardous Chemicals in Consumer Products, for public comment.The Standard prescribes restrictions on the use of 103 categories of harmful substances in consumer products. Consumer products exclude government specially-supervised products, such as food, medicine, cosmetics, tobacco, special equipment, aircraft, ships, and military products.For the restricted substances that are regulated under existing standards for consumer products in China, the draft Standard adopts the usage restrictions set by the Chinese standards. If China hasn't set safety requirements for the harmful chemicals in consumer products, the new Standard proposes restrictions based on the requirements in the following standards:* EU REACH Regulations ((EC) NO 1907/2006);* EN 71-9 Safety of Toys - Part 9: Organic chemical compounds - requirements;* EN71-12: 2013 Safety of Toys - Part 12: N-Nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances; and* OEKO-TEX® Standard 100-2017The public comment period ended on April 15, 2017. The Standard is intended to be finalized as a Recommended National Standard (GB/T).Reference:Notice to Solicit Public Comment on Safety Requirements for Hazardous Chemicals in Consumer Products (in Chinese): http://www.cnis.gov.cn/wzgg/201703/t20170330_22259.shtml

by Steve Schulte, CHMM, CPP, DGSAIn Brazil, the transportation of dangerous goods is regulated under the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT). On December 14, 2016, ANTT approved Resolution 5.232 adopting the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, 19th Revision.Some of the additions to the Brazilian 2016 Resolution for the Transport of Dangerous Goods include the following:Forty new UN listings,New classification methods,Updates on Lithium batteries, flammable liquid and organic peroxides hazard classes.Brazil’s resolution also requires safer packaging for certain dangerous goods and new types of labels for the transport of small quantities of dangerous goods.This update does not immediately update the transport classification requirements under MERCOSUR. Manufacturers, importers and distributors doing business within the MERCOSUR region may encounter a classification issue between MERCOSUR and Brazil’s update, since MECOSUR is under the 9th Revision of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and Brazil will be under the 19th Revision.The resolution goes into effect July 16, 2017.The full context and changes proposed in the amendment can be found on Brazil’s National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) website: http://portal.antt.gov.br/index.php/content/view/4961.htmlReference:National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) website (in Portuguese): http://portal.antt.gov.br/index.php/content/view/4961.html

by Yuqing ShiOur new LOLI Data Analytics App makes it easier for users to quickly estimate the relative regulatory burden of chemical substances. The App also uses chemical fingerprint technology to identify substances with similar properties, which may aid in finding less regulated alternatives. The App is available in both the Apple Store and Google Play, in English and Chinese (Apple Store, Baidu Market, Tencent Market).How It WorksTo analyze the level of regulation of a chemical substance, search the CAS number or the name of the chemical substance using the search bar under the Analytics tab. The app will make suggestions to complete your input as you type.If the app finds an exact match for your search, the chemical substance will be added to the “Results” table. If no matches are found, then the app will provide you with several suggestions.The Results will display a colored circle associated with the substance. Substances subject to high levels of regulation display a red circle, while those with medium levels display yellow, and those with low levels display green. As the regulatory burden increases, the size of the circle also grows so you can easily compare two substances within the same category by comparing the relative size of their circle.When a chemical substance is under a high level of regulation, you can find alternatives by clicking on “similar substances.”Adding Results for more substances is easy. You can use the search bar again, select a substance from the search history (simply tap on the substance you want to add), or add directly from the similar substances list (tap on the “+” in the similar substances page). Through this app, you can also keep up with our latest blog posts and visit the ChemADVISOR website. For additional information on data analytics, please check our previous post “What is Data Analytics”.

by Caroline Miller, CIH, CSPThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requests the public to provide feedback on the draft Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) The NIOSH Occupational Exposure Banding Process: Guidance for the Evaluation of Chemical Hazards. The Agency will host a public meeting on May 23, 2017 to enable stakeholders to provide comments. Written comments will continue to be accepted until June 13, 2017.Currently, there are thousands of chemicals that do not have occupational exposure limits (OELs) established. It is not practical to assign OELs to every chemical or material that exists today. It is also not cost effective to assign OELs to research and development materials that may never be produced in a large quantity. Although OELs may not exist, employees’ exposures to these materials must be considered and appropriate protective measures be implemented. Where OELs do not currently exist, chemicals can be placed into categories or occupational exposure bands (OEBs) based upon actual or estimated health effects. There are five OEBs (A through E), with the lowest toxicity in Band A and the highest toxicity in Band E. The OEBs would then be used to target controls for protecting worker health.The NIOSH method includes a three-tiered system that is based on data availability and quality and user training and proficiency. Tier 1 uses hazard classifications and hazard codes from the Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). It is intended that Tier 1 evaluations can be performed with little information and training. However, it should be determined whether the evaluation should move up to a Tier 2 (requires a review of toxicological information) or Tier 3 (necessitates expert judgement).In the Federal Register notice requesting the public feedback, NIOSH is asking for opinions on various issues, including how to handle exposures below the OEBs for chemicals that can cause an immediate effect and skin toxicants that are corrosive, an irritant, or a sensitizer; what information sources should be included and how they should be assessed; and how the agency should account for structural analogs or related chemicals data gathered for the banding process.References:Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NIOSH. “Draft Current Intelligence Bulletin: The Occupational Exposure Banding Process: Guidance for the Evaluation of Chemical Hazards; Notice of Public Meeting; Request for Comments.” Federal Register 82 (15 March 2017): https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-03-15/pdf/2017-05115.pdfCDC, NIOSH. “The NIOSH Occupational Exposure Banding Process: Guidance for the Evaluation of Chemical Hazards.” NIOSH Docket Number 290, CDC-2017-0028 (March 2017): https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/review/docket290/default.htmlHHS, CDC, NIOSH, “The NIOSH Occupational Exposure Banding Process: Guidance for the Evaluation of Chemical Hazards – External Review Draft.” March 8, 2017: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/review/docket290/pdfs/clean-cib-niosh-oebprocess-guidancefortheevaluationofchemicalhazards_3.8.17.pdf

On Tuesday, 28 March 2017, Darlene Susa-Anderson of ChemADVISOR spoke at the Society for Chemical Hazard Communication (SCHC) Spring 2017 Meeting. The topic was “Observations: UN Global List Pilot Project versus Published GHS Classifications”, a follow-up from our recent blog post on the pilot project.Darlene’s presentation reviewed some analytics on the country published GHS classifications. Across the lists of published classifications, relatively few (461) chemical substances appear on all the lists, even when only considering lists including more than 2000 substances.The substances reviewed by the pilot projects were chosen by the lead country. Darlene presented maps of the regulatory status in each country, taken from the LOLI Database’s Query function, which show that the lead countries chose substances to review which they had already regulated to a greater than average extent.The presentation covered each instance where a country provided data on a classification endpoint that the pilot project classified in a way that disagreed with some published classifications. A notable example was the Flammable Liquid classification for Dicyclopentane. One might have thought that Physical Hazards would be relatively straightforward but the published country classifications alone demonstrate substantial discrepancy!The entire presentation can be accessed here:http://www.schc.org/assets/meetings/spring_2017/susa_anderson_d_presentation.pdf

by Johanna KelttiIn the Nordic countries, manufacturers and importers must register their products to the Product Registry of the country. Also, the annual quantities and changes in trade names and compositions must be reported. Currently, these registries are moving towards on-line portals.In January 2017, Sweden launched an on-line portal for registrations to the Swedish Product Registry. The Swedish Chemical Agency is planning to extend the scope of this web-portal to include the reporting of Product-in-product, which is currently reported with a paper form. The updated web-portal is planned to be released in the autumn of 2017.Denmark and Norway have also made announcements regarding their Product Registries. The Danish Working Environment Authority has announced that the Danish Product Registry will be fully digital on April 1, 2017, and the Norwegian Environment Agency has stated that the Norwegian Product Registry will have a digital registration system available for foreign companies sometime this year.The non-confidential information from the Product Registers of the Nordic countries is included in the SPIN database. SPIN stands for Substances in Products in the Nordic Countries.References:Swedish Chemical Agency, Products Register: http://www.kemi.se/en/directly-to/products-registerDanish Working Environment Authority, Product Registry: http://engelsk.arbejdstilsynet.dk/en/produktregistretNorwegian Environment Agency, Product Register: http://www.miljodirektoratet.no/en/Areas-of-activity1/Chemicals/The-Product-Register/Substances in Products in the Nordic Countries (SPIN), funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers Chemical Group: http://spin2000.net

by John J. Kowalski, CHMMSection 8(b)(10)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) “to carry out and publish, in the Federal Register,” “an inventory of mercury supply, use, and trade in the United States” no later than April 1, 2017 and every three years thereafter. On March 29, 2017, EPA announced the availability of the initial inventory. The inventory itself was not published in the Federal Register. But, it is available in the docket at: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0127-0002.No new requirements were imposed upon the regulated community with the publication of the initial inventory. However, Section 8(b)(10)(D) of TSCA provides that “any person who manufactures mercury or mercury-added products or otherwise intentionally uses mercury in a manufacturing process shall make periodic reports to EPA, at such time and including such information” as the Agency determines by rule. Section 8(b)(10)(D) further provides that EPA must promulgate the rule by June 22, 2018. Finally, the Agency has stated that “future triennial inventories of mercury supply, use, and trade are expected to include data collected” under the rule.ReferenceEnvironmental Protection Agency. “Mercury; Initial Inventory Report of Supply, Use, and Trade.” Federal Register 82 (29 March 2017): 15522-15523. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-03-29/pdf/2017-06205.pdf

ChemADVISOR understands how critical it is for companies that manufacture, import, process, or use chemicals in the US to possess the fundamental understandings of how the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) affects their businesses. This three-day course is designed to provide TSCA practitioners, both new and experienced, with the tools needed to perform their daily work. The course will use interactive instruction with a focus on today’s TSCA, where electronic reporting is the norm for Section 5 notices and other submissions.Students attending this course will learn about all of the major requirements under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new and existing chemicals programs. They will also learn how to:find the information that they’ll need to do their jobs on a daily basis;determine the TSCA Inventory status of the chemicals that their companies manufacture, import, process, or use; and,prepare PMNs and Section 5 exemption applications using EPA’s e-PMN software.In addition, students will be provided with citations to the relevant sections of the TSCA statute and the corresponding EPA regulations, as well as applicable Agency guidance documents, for all of the major requirements under TSCA. Finally, they will be provided with hard copy handouts prepared by ChemADVISOR and electronic versions of EPA guidance documents, all of which will serve as handy references going forward. Read the full agenda.Register below, or contact us for more information.TSCA Essentials Training CourseMay 22-24, 2017REGISTER