New Japanese requirements of SCCPs, DecaBDE and PFOS are now published

march 2018 - Relevant for: hardlines, softlines INDUSTRY

On 21 February 2018, the Cabinet Order¹ was published to revise the Order for Enforcement of the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc². Short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) are designated as Class I Specified Chemical Substances under the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc (hereinafter referred to as "the Act")³. Certain imported products containing perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS) and its salts are forbidden in Japan.
The purpose of the Act is to set a way for evaluating the properties of new chemical substances before their manufacture or import to Japan. It also controls the use and import of particular hazardous substances or products containing those substances.

With the recent updates, SCCPs and decaBDE are identified as Class I Specified Chemical Substances. It means the substance only can be manufactured or imported unless the authorisation is granted. Moreover, the Order specified the types of products containing a Class I specified chemical substance cannot be imported. Table A highlights the revisions of the amendment.

Item	Amendment	Date of enforcement
Total production quantity of new chemical substances across Japan under the Special Arrangements for Evaluation Requirements	Stipulated the total environmental emissions (i.e., the upper limit of the quantity of manufacture in or import into Japan), of new chemical substances under the Special Arrangements for Evaluation Requirements: 1 ton under the Special Arrangements for a Small Quantity of New Chemical Substances, and 10 tons under the Special Arrangements for a Small Production Quantity of New Chemical Substances	1 January 2019
SCCPs (straight-chain chlorinated hydrocarbons with chain lengths ranging from C10 to C13 and a content of chlorine greater than 48 per cent by weight)	Newly designated as Class I Specified Chemical Substances under the Act	1 April 2018
	Newly designated products to be banned to import in which SCCPs are used: Lubricating, cutting and hydraulic oils; Chemicals for flame-retardant treatment; Plasticizers for resin and rubber; Paints (limited to those for waterproof and flame retardance); Adhesives and sealing fillers; Fatliquoring agents for leather.	1 October 2018
DecaBDE	Newly designated as Class I Specified Chemical Substances under the Act	1 April 2018
DecaBDE	Newly designated products to be banned to import in which decaBDE is used: Additives treated to have flame-proofing; Chemicals for flame-retardant treatment for raw materials, resin and rubber; Adhesives and sealing fillers; Floor covering treated with flame-proofing; Curtains treated with flame-proofing; Banner-flags treated with flame-proofing.	1 October 2018
PFOS or its salts	Newly designated products to be banned to import in which PFOS or its salts are used: Etching agents (limited to those for uses in the manufacture of piezoelectric filters or of compound semiconductors which enable radio to transmit and receive radio waves with more than 3 MHz of frequencies); Resists for semiconductors; Commercial photograph films.	1 October 2018
	Removed the following applications from the list of those in which PFOS or its salts are permitted to be used: Manufacturing of etching agents, limited to those used for manufacturing compound semiconductors by which piezoelectric filters or wireless equipment can transmit and receive radio waves with frequencies of 3 MHz or more; Manufacturing of resists for semiconductors; Manufacturing of commercial photographic films.	1 April 2018
	Removed the following products from the list of those containing PFOS or its salts that are required to meet predetermined technical standards: Etching agents, limited to those used for manufacturing compound semiconductors by which piezoelectric filters or wireless equipment can transmit and receive radio waves with frequencies of 3 MHz or more; Resists for semiconductors; Commercial photographic films.	1 April 2018

Table A. Highlights of the amendments⁴

[1] The Cabinet order for the Partial Revision of the Order for Enforcement of the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. (Japanese)
[2] The Order for Enforcement of the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. (Japanese)
[3] Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc.(Japanese)
[4] Press release of Japan METI for revisions of the Act

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