Australia: New regulation for persistent organic pollutants (POP)

 

Australia has published a new Proposed chemical management standards for Persistent Organic Pollutants affecting short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs).

The Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS) has been collaboratively developed by all Australian governments to proficiently and systematically handle environmental risks associated with industrial chemicals, all while establishing consistent regulatory requirements for businesses operating throughout Australia. The IChEMS Register is responsible for documenting the environmental management standards for chemicals, which encompass risk mitigation measures designed for specific industrial applications. Subsequently, both the Australian federal government and individual state and territory governments will enact legislation to implement these standards within their respective jurisdictions.

The proposed determination involves the inclusion of a specific group of chemicals, as well as mixtures and articles containing these chemicals, into Schedule 7 of the IChEMS Register. This inclusion will result in the prohibition of their import, manufacture, use, and export in Australia, except for cases involving unintentional trace contamination, research, environmentally responsible disposal, and articles that were in use prior to the effective date of this decision.The proposed scheduling decisions aim to:

• Enact standards for Stockholm Convention listed persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that have industrial uses and which Australia has not yet ratified.
• Facilitate ratification of the Stockholm Convention listings of the chemicals, allowing Australia to fulfil its obligations under the Convention.
• Achieve better protection of the environment through improved management of the environmental risks posed by industrial chemicals.
• Provide a nationally consistent, transparent, predictable and streamlined approach to environmental risk management of industrial chemicals for governments, industry and the community.

The draft decision for consultation can be found HERE.

To find out more about chemical safety and chemical compliance in Australia and worldwide, please contact the Product Compliance Institute directly.