On January 19 2010 the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) instituted the revised version of the Provisions on Environmental Administration of New Chemical Substances. This new legislation replaced an outdated law from the previous decade, and brought China’s environmental regulations into closer accordance with the EU REACH compliance law. The new Chinese legislation is often referred to as “China REACH.”
Under China REACH, companies will be required to submit new chemical substance notification to the Chinese Chemical Registration Centre (CRC), a division of the MEP, for any new chemicals that they wish to import into or utilize within China, regardless of annual amounts. This includes all chemicals, excluding the approximately 45,000 chemicals currently listed on China’s Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances Produced or Imported in China (IECSC).
Companies must submit all new substances to the CRC that are intended to be used on their own or in the preparation of goods to be released, and also all new substances used as intermediates or ingredients for pharmaceuticals, veterinary drugs, food and feed additives, pesticides, and cosmetics.
