5^th – 9^th Feb 2018, ChemCon The Americas 2018 was held in New Orleans, US. Following the positive cooperation achieved on ChemCon Asia in 2017, REACH24H decided to once again partner with ChemCon for its 2018 edition, attending the conference and actively joining in discussions on chemical management with hundreds of international delegates.

Mr. Robert Kiefer, Manager of REACH24H USA, was invited to act as host of the conference and speaker, where he introduced the topic of GHS implementation in the Asia Pacific region and also gave a detailed introduction to the regulatory framework of China’s chemical industry.

Mr. Robert Kiefer was invited to be the host (Left)

Robert Kiefer’s experience spans over twenty years in Washington, DC working for two major trade associations in the chemical and formulated products industries. Prior to REACH24H, Robert served as Director of Regulatory and Technical Affairs for the American Chemistry Council (ACC), and prior to that, Director of Scientific and International Affairs for the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA). He has extensive regulatory advocacy experience in domestic and global chemical control regulations, trade policy, hazard communication, consumer products and pesticides. He joined REACH24H in 2014 as manager of the REACH24H USA Office.

Implementation of GHS in the AP region

In the session of Practical implementation of GHS, Mr. Robert Kiefer compared and contrasted the GHS regulations of different regions such as China, Taiwan region, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand etc. Mr. Kiefer highlighted three major difficulties for GHS compliance in the AP region: firstly, professionals should be aware of the differences between the regulations in different regions. Secondly, the updates and changes of the regulations should be tracked, which can be difficult due to language barriers. Thirdly, even in the same country, there are discrepancies between different Authorities. At the end of this presentation, Mr. Kiefer suggested that when enterprises deal with GHS compliance, it is important for them to collect regulatory information in relevant Asian countries and keep track of updates of all relevant regulatory requirements. For enterprises developing chemical products, they must ensure they have the right hazard classification and hazardous data, and that they make the preparation of standard SDS and label their first priority. For employees, enterprises should carry out safety training exercises regularly to thoroughly explain chemical hazards and how to handle them in the case of an emergency.

The regulation framework of the chemical industry in China

Chemical management in China is a complex issue which involves many regulations and levels of authorities. Mr. Robert Kiefer gave a speech on Chemical Control Legislation in China and Japan. After introducing the complex regulatory system, he further analyzed the latest updates of regulations on chemical management in China, as well as environmental protection policies.

The increasingly stringent chemical regulatory system and regulatory requirements of various countries around the world have raised the barriers for international market access and played an increasingly important role in global trade-related chemicals compliance. Over the years, REACH24H has actively established a multi-party communication platform to promote the sharing of compliance information, sound management of chemicals throughout the life cycle and international cooperation in chemicals management so as to jointly promote a green and sustainable chemicals industry.