42
3 The Role of Legislation
Substances already on the market in Canada are included in the Domestic Substances List (DSL), and screening and prioritization efforts have been undertaken to
assess some of the more than 20,000 substances included in this list. New substances
that are intended to be manufactured in, or imported into, Canada require advanced
notification to the authorities, including the submission of a minimum set of data.
If the authorities find that the substance could be toxic as defined under CEPA, it
could be subjected to restrictions.
3.3.6 Key Legislation in Japan and South Korea
Industrial chemicals in Japan are primarily managed under a set of four main pieces
of legislation: the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation
of their Manufacture (known as the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL)),
the Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL), the Law for Pollutant Release and
Transfer Register and Promotion of Chemical Management (PRTR Law), and the
Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law (PDSCL). The PDSCL was
first introduced in 1950 to protect public health from poisonous and deleterious
substances through requiring licenses and standards for manufacturing, importing,
and selling substances classified as such (National Institute of Health Sciences,
2018). The ISHL was enacted in 1972 to regulate the manufacture and import of
substances to protect human health in the workplace (Japan International Center for
Occupational Safety and Health, 2008). It applies bans, required pre-authorizations,
or specific labeling requirements to dangerous substances.
First enacted in 1973, the CSCL aims to protect environmental health (Ministry
of Economy Trade and Industry, 2018). It requires a pre-manufacture evaluation
and approval process for new substances, and existing substances require annual
reporting of their manufacturing volumes and use data to authorities if manufactured
or imported at levels above 1 t per year. The PRTR Law was introduced in 1999
to manage the reporting of releases and transfers of chemical substances, and it
requires certain business types to report these amounts for a specific set of chemical
substances (National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, 2018).
In South Korea, industrial chemicals fall under the Act on Registration and
Evaluation of Chemical Substances (K-REACH) and the Chemical Control Act
(CCA). The K-REACH legislation came into force in 2015 (Korea Legislation
Research Institute, 2013) and is known for its similarity to the EU’s REACH
regulation. It focuses on the registration and evaluation of substances, and it requires
importers and manufacturers to register any new substance before being placed on
the market as well as any existing substance having a manufacturing volume of 1 t
or more per year. As K-REACH was introduced fairly recently, there is a registration
grace period allowing importers and manufacturers of existing chemicals to register
their substances (depending on the amount) until the year 2030 at the latest. Similar
to REACH in the EU, registrations are shared by manufacturers or importers of
the same substance, and substances can then undergo a hazard evaluation and risk
assessment to determine if any control measures are needed. Substances can also
3 The Role of Legislation
Substances already on the market in Canada are included in the Domestic Substances List (DSL), and screening and prioritization efforts have been undertaken to
assess some of the more than 20,000 substances included in this list. New substances
that are intended to be manufactured in, or imported into, Canada require advanced
notification to the authorities, including the submission of a minimum set of data.
If the authorities find that the substance could be toxic as defined under CEPA, it
could be subjected to restrictions.
3.3.6 Key Legislation in Japan and South Korea
Industrial chemicals in Japan are primarily managed under a set of four main pieces
of legislation: the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation
of their Manufacture (known as the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL)),
the Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL), the Law for Pollutant Release and
Transfer Register and Promotion of Chemical Management (PRTR Law), and the
Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law (PDSCL). The PDSCL was
first introduced in 1950 to protect public health from poisonous and deleterious
substances through requiring licenses and standards for manufacturing, importing,
and selling substances classified as such (National Institute of Health Sciences,
2018). The ISHL was enacted in 1972 to regulate the manufacture and import of
substances to protect human health in the workplace (Japan International Center for
Occupational Safety and Health, 2008). It applies bans, required pre-authorizations,
or specific labeling requirements to dangerous substances.
First enacted in 1973, the CSCL aims to protect environmental health (Ministry
of Economy Trade and Industry, 2018). It requires a pre-manufacture evaluation
and approval process for new substances, and existing substances require annual
reporting of their manufacturing volumes and use data to authorities if manufactured
or imported at levels above 1 t per year. The PRTR Law was introduced in 1999
to manage the reporting of releases and transfers of chemical substances, and it
requires certain business types to report these amounts for a specific set of chemical
substances (National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, 2018).
In South Korea, industrial chemicals fall under the Act on Registration and
Evaluation of Chemical Substances (K-REACH) and the Chemical Control Act
(CCA). The K-REACH legislation came into force in 2015 (Korea Legislation
Research Institute, 2013) and is known for its similarity to the EU’s REACH
regulation. It focuses on the registration and evaluation of substances, and it requires
importers and manufacturers to register any new substance before being placed on
the market as well as any existing substance having a manufacturing volume of 1 t
or more per year. As K-REACH was introduced fairly recently, there is a registration
grace period allowing importers and manufacturers of existing chemicals to register
their substances (depending on the amount) until the year 2030 at the latest. Similar
to REACH in the EU, registrations are shared by manufacturers or importers of
the same substance, and substances can then undergo a hazard evaluation and risk
assessment to determine if any control measures are needed. Substances can also