Milan Workshop Special Coverage
On 6 June 2012, the Milan Workshop, co-organized by REACH24H, Federchemica, and Selerant at Federchimic Auditorium, has provided the EU chemical businessmen a brand-new update of China’s chemical regulations about registration, classification and labeling, packaging. The conference has attracted over 120 regulatory specialists or HSE managers of chemical related companies from Italy and other European countries aimed at entering China market. And China’s implementation of GHS and its governance on hazardous chemicals were elaborated both in technical and legislative perspectives by the Chinese experts from NRCC-SAWS and REACH24H.
Jinhe Chen, Engineer of chemical registration at the NRCC-SAWS, introduced audiences the China’s GHS management system such as scopes, the involved departments/ministries and their supervision and inspection operating by different sectors in supply chains of the chemicals, permits licensing, prohibition& restrictions, registration of chemicals. As the “Regulation on the Control over Safety of Hazardous Chemicals (Decree No.591)” entered into force end last year, or regarded as a replacement of China’s original regulation on Hazardous chemicals (Decree No.44), Mr. Chen explained the details changes of the Decree No.591 from their definition ,scope, numbers of articles contained in different chapters and sections. Also, SAWS has altered its functions under this renewal, indicated comprehensive works of supervision and management of hazardous chemicals including: indentifying, announcement, adjustment the list of hazardous chemicals; inspection on the safety conditions of newly constructed projects, renovation , production expansion, storages on hazard chemicals; issuing approvals of safe production permit, safety use permit and operation permit of hazardous chemicals; granting the registration of hazardous chemicals. And SAWS is progressing in its documenting and revising of Department Directives such as the “C&L Inventory”, “Measures on the safe use permit of hazardous chemicals”, “Measures on the registration of hazardous chemicals”. When referring to the most concerned issue, the “C&L inventory”, Mr. Chen pledged that the first bacth of the inventory is bound to be published this year, however, the number of the inclusion chemicals might not be as much as people ever supposed, ranging from 4,000 to 5,000, or even fewer.
“Despite China chemical industry has rapidly grown in its scale and profits, and the upper-streamed chemical products from EU are technically advantageous upon others, our EU suppliers shall not be overconfident about themselves since China has successively promulgated rules and regulations about chemicals in various sectors such as import-export, registration, classification, labeling and packaging. Ignorance about the updates and trend of these regulatory information will lead us difficulties and losses in entering this emerging market!” said Mario Zanone Poma and Ralf Knauf, two heads of Italian industrials associations, the Camera di commercio italo-cinese and the Federchimica.
Consulting groups are more concerned about giving technical and legislative opinions. “China has learn much from the EU standards in its own GHS legislations from classifications to packaging, but some minor differences are still existed between China and EU, for example, some of the rules are directly came into force from last December without any grace period, the concerned entities had better to adapt themselves to China’s own characteristics and circumstances from time to time!” warned Simon Margheritis from Selerant Ltd.
However, experts from China are eager and specialized in promoting interacts between China and EU. “Now that increasing numbers of chemicals are obligated to be registered or regulated in China, we’ve developed the ‘toolbox’, a free online search tool contains more than 5800 records of banned/ restricted or controlled chemicals by the regulations in China. The manufacturers, distributors, downstream users and other concerned entities can obtain concise regulatory information of their chemicals.” introduced Dr. Renee, specialist from REACH24H.
The topics and issues raised during the session have drawn much attention by EU industry, a local media, the ilsole24ore has specially reported this serviceable and informative event, which indicated a splendid outcome co-organized by REACH24H, Federchemica, and Selerant. The latter was a professional SDS and label making software developing company. It recently inked a deal with REACH24H to launch a SDS preparing software, the HazEX.
Detailed information about the three REACH24H presentations at the Workshop are summarized as below:
>>China New Chemical Notification-cases study Presentation download;
>>Overview on Chinese chemical regulation system Presentation download.
