April 16, 2021
On April 16, 2021, the Cabinet decided to approve the Cabinet Order for the Partial Revision of the Order for Enforcement of the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, Etc.The Cabinet Order designates 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl) ethanol (also known as o,p’-Dicofol) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or its salts as Class I Specified Chemical Substances.
Background to the revision of the Order
At the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2019, new substances came under its scope of elimination. Based on the decisions, this Cabinet Order designates 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl) ethanol (also known as o,p’-Dicofol) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or its salts as Class I Specified Chemical Substances*1 under Article 2 (2) of the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, Etc. (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), and makes necessary revisions. (See section 2 for details.)
*1: The list of Class I Specified Chemical Substances covers chemical substances that are toxic for human beings or other animals at the top of the food chain with long-term intake, persistent, and highly accumulating. Concerning these substances, businesses are required to receive permission to manufacture and import them (both of which are prohibited in principle), are limited in how they can use them, and are prohibited from importing products designated under the Cabinet Order.
Summary of the Cabinet Order
(1) Designation of Class I Specified Chemical Substances
The Cabinet Order designates 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl) ethanol (also known as o,p’-Dicofol) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or its salts as Class I Specified Chemical Substances under Article 2 (2) of the Act (Article 1 of the Order for Enforcement of the Act).
(2) Designation of products that businesses are not permitted to import, in which any of the Class I Specified Chemical Substances are used
The Cabinet Order designates the following products that businesses are not permitted to import, in which any of the Class I Specified Chemical Substances are used (Article 7 of the Order for Enforcement of the Act).
- Water-resistant paper and oil-resistant paper
- Water-repellent textiles and oil-repellent textiles
- Cleaning agents
- Anti-reflection agents used in the manufacture of semiconductors
- Paints and varnish
- Water repellent and oil repellent
- Adhesives and sealing fillers
- Fire extinguishers, fire-extinguishing agents, and fire-extinguishing foam
- Toners
- Water-resistant clothes and oil- resistant clothes
- Water-repellent floor coverings and oil-repellent floor coverings
- Floor waxes
- Photographic paper
(3) Designation of products for which standards must be met in relation to handling, etc. in which any of the Class I Specified Chemical Substances are used
For the time being, the Cabinet Order designates fire extinguishers, fire-extinguishing agents, and fire-extinguishing foam in which perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or its salts are used as products for which standards specified by the government must be met when they are handled (Article 3 of the Initial Supplementary Provisions to the Order for Enforcement of the Act).
Future schedule
Promulgation: April 21, 2021 (tentative)
Enforcement: October 22, 2021
