China’s MEE is revising the Measures for the Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances but the release date is still uncertain. In 2017, the revised data requirement in the guidance for the Measures was published. However, the complete draft of the Guidance will not go public until the official release of the Measures.
According to Ms.Lu Ling from MEP-SCC, the officer with primary oversight of the amendment, there are 2 overriding principles shaping the drafting of the Measures:
1. Prioritization of chemicals of high concern.
According to SCC data (see in the pie chart below), 43% of notified new substances fell under the group “hazardous new chemical substances of priority environmental concern” from 2012 to 2017. As a result, it requires much manpower and material resources than SCC could bear to conduct supervisory activities. Referring to the management of chemicals in developed countries, SCC probably will adjust existing classification criteria (now using GHS classification) and lay more focuses on chemicals of high concern.
2. Intensify investigation and punishment on incompliance.
Technical limits in obtaining evidence have hamperd the authority’s ability to identify and penalize enterprises who evade notification duties. To solve that problem, a reporting mechanism on false data or incompliance is likely to be introduced to assist official supervisory activities.
SCC is promoting legislative work on Regulations on Environmental Management of Chemicals. Legislative seminars were held to discuss the lawmaking principles and chemical management in developed countries and regions such as the US, Japan, EU and Canada. China's “Regulations” are still in an early development phase and are not expected to be released in the near future.
An updated version of online notification system is being developed for new chemical notification. Now the system is undergoing internal testing. Based on the original client/server model, a browser/server model is utilized in the new system and other functions are modified.
