Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration under Executive Yuan published on 12 December its 2011 annual Environmental White Paper with a section elaborating on Taiwan's toxic chemicals management
The 2011 White Paper consists of three main chapters concerning Taiwan’s Environmental Policy and Current Status, Review of Environmental Strategies and Measures, and Implementation Schedule and Prospects of Environmental Projects. In the section of “Management of toxic chemicals and environmental pesticides”, the Paper concludes the EPA’s work in toxic chemicals management as the follows:
Establish sound management regulations for toxic chemicals and environmental pesticides
Promote toxic chemical disaster prevention system
Strengthen the screening management of toxic chemicals
Establish and execute environmental pesticides control system
Strengthen management of toxic chemicals, auditing and guidance of environmental pesticides
In this year, EPA has incorporated several undegradable substances with biological concentration and one substance with biological concentration, hexabromobiphenyl, into the list of Class 1 toxic chemical substances.
Two substances with biological concentration and chronic acute toxicity, perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and PFOS lithium salt are respectively classified into Class 1 and 2 toxic chemical substances.
A substance, PFOS sulfur fluoride, which has caused extensive consumer concerns for its prevalence over the environment, is added into the list of Class 4 toxic chemical substances.
Substances with biological concentration, acute ecotox properties and carcinogenic properties like Mirex, chlordecone, pentachlorobenzene, etc. are respectively classified into Class 1 and 3 toxic chemical substances.
The Taiwan toxic substance legislative progress in 2011 relates to the revision of “Measures on Toxic Chemical Substances Registration Licensing” and the amendment of “Screening and Identification of Toxic Chemical Substances” issued by the Taiwan Executive Yuan. Taiwan EPA said the revised measures on toxic chemicals registration would help facilitate relevant formalities of toxic substance licensing as the transportation and manufacturing approval are shifted to each local governments.
Based on the results of 2010 research to chemicals flow chart in the environment, the Taiwan EPA has carried out the testing analysis for 21 toxic chemicals, including organotins, phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), bisphenol A (BPA ), nonyl phenol and others.
It is still worth noting that Taiwan EPA has initiated from 2010 a program to equip all road vehicles that carry hazardous/dangerous chemicals with Global Position System. Up to now, the first and second batches of dangerous chemicals vehicles subject to the EPA supervision have completed the GPS installation, according to the White Paper.
