Thailand’s Department of Industrial Works (DIW) has announced it is planning a national inventory of existing substances and REACH-like regulation for new substances.

If proposals go ahead, any substance not notified by a provisional date of 31 December 2016 will not be listed on the inventory. It will be treated as a “new” substance subject to regulation.

Currently, the country’s Hazardous Substances List 5.6, published in February, requires all substances of a certain classification to be registered or notified.
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Adriana Jalba, Cefic’s international chemicals management manager, told Chemical Watch that substances of very high concern (SVHCs) – a term used in the EU REACH Regulation – will be identified and flagged for further risk assessment to be completed by companies.

Speaking at Chemical Watch’s Asia Regulatory Summit in Singapore, Montira Sriyai of Dr Knoell
Consult said the criteria for SVHC assessment would include:

• production or import volumes of over 10tonnes/year;
• CMR category 1A or 1B substances;
• persistent bioaccumulative toxic (BPT) substances;
• very persistent very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substances;
• mirroring the language of REACH again – substances of an “equivalent level of concern”; and
• substances listed in UN chemicals Conventions.

Ms Sriyai said the DIW will combine:

• the hazardous substance list (5.6);
• the latest hazardous chemical notification list;
• the chemicals listed in the DIW consultation database; and
• the national single window list from the Customs department.
• Chemicals appearing on the consolidated list would be defined as “existing”.

There are also proposals to introduce an OR system in the country and allow joint submission.

Ms Jalba said the regulatory toolbox produced by the International Council of Chemical
Associations (ICCA) seems to be part of the discussions, “especially for the guidance in prioritisation and risk assessment”. The toolbox offers governments in less.