CRAC 2019 Conference Successfully Closes Its 11th Edition in the Ancient City of Xi’an, China

September 5, 2019

The Chemical Regulatory Annual Conference (CRAC2019) celebrated its 11^th Edition this past 2-4 September 2019 in the city of Xi’an, China. The conference included two full days of sessions focused on regulatory advances in the fields of chemicals, pesticides, dangerous goods transportation and food contact materials and a networking and cultural event on the last day, joined by both local, foreign attendees and Speakers.

#CRAC2019 officially opened its doors on September 2, 2019, with REACH24H Consulting Group General Manager Mr. Wei Wenfeng sharing a few words on the Group’s development as a platform for technical knowledge exchange and cooperation, which sought to share upstream and downstream resources from industries around the world. More than 300 official representatives, technical experts, business representatives and social media outlets from various industries gathered for this event in Xi’an, in ancient times known as the city of “Perpetual Peace” (长安).

This 11^th Edition of the Conference enjoyed a full two-day session on Chemicals Environmental and Safety Management, with presentations by leading European Chemicals Agency ECHA representative, Mrs. Catherine Cornu, Mrs. Liu and Mr. Yang Yu from the Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center at MEE of P.R.C, Mr. Giles Spencer Hobson from the UK National Chemical Emergency Centre, among many distinguished national and international Keynote Speakers. Some of the main discussions centered around REACH evaluation, China’s Measures for Environmental Administration of New Chemical Substances under MEP Order 7 and Taiwan’s “SIEF-like” platform recent release.

Mrs. Catherine Cornu, ECHA

Mrs. Liu, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of P.R.C

The Chemical Risk Assessment Session was very well received by participants, touching on a number of specific issues, including Chemical Risk Assessment Methods, QSAR Model and other alternative methods for consumer products, with presentations by various distinguished experts, such as Prof. Emilio Benfenati from Vega Hub, Ms. Li Tian from Delphic HSE Solutions (HK) Ltd. and Dr. Yiping Xu from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Chemical Risk Assessment Panel (from left:) Mr. Bob White (REACH24H Consulting Group), Prof. Emilio Benfenati (Vega Hub), Ms. Li Tian (Delphic HSE Solutions (HK) Ltd.), Dr. Yiping Xu (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

For a second consecutive year, CRAC Conference featured a Dangerous Goods Safety Management Session, with presentations by Mr. Donghao Cheng from Dangerous Goods Transport Management Department of Civil Aviation Administration of China, and Mr. Willi Weßelowscky from UMCO GmbH, among others. This session aimed to discuss advances in China’s management requirements for the transport of dangerous chemicals, as well as share a light on the latest on lithium battery’s safety risks.

Moving on to the global pesticide registration session, this two-day session featured presentations by speakers from across the globe, with panels integrated by registration authorities from China, Argentina, Sudan, Syria, India, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Australia to the United Kingdom. Different countries increasing demand for approval by China’s authority ICAMA of registrant’s certificate of origin was one of the most recurring topics throughout this conference.

Global Pesticides Q&A Panel (from left): Ms.Julia Pochat (moderator), Mr.Chasel Huang (REACH24H Consulting Group), Mr. Fares Reda (Ministry of Agriculture of Syria, Dr. Geoff Smart (former APVMA official), Mr. Sebastian Gomez, SENASA

September 3 also featured a Food Contact Materials Management Session, to discuss some of the main regulatory trends in this field in East Asian countries as well as U.S., with presentations by Ms. Guiqin Shang from the National Key Laboratory of Food Contact Materials and Ms. Gabbie Wang from REACH24H Consulting Group, among others.

In addition to the main Conference agenda on the previously mentioned topics, the CRAC2019 Conference also offered a visit to the Terracotta Army museum in Xi’an to allow participants to gain first-hand insight into China’s history and allow them to have further opportunities to network with fellow professionals and speakers.

Some highlights from #CRAC2019:

China’s chemical industry concerns over hazardous chemicals bring about more stringent registration requirements for Grade I and II major hazard installations
Measures for Safety Administration of Road Transport of Dangerous Goods to be published in December 2019, to strike a balance between safety and facilitation;
“SIEF-like” Platform just Released for Taiwan REACH;
Updates on China’s MEP (now MEE) Order 7 for New Chemical Management revision are on the way, with China’s government currently developing an E-certificate system;
Japan’s new Food Sanitation Act to impose a positive list system for specific FCMs.