Public Consultation on Proposed Control of Additional Chemicals as Hazardous Substances (HS) in Singapore
Last updated 18 December 2024
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National Environment Agency - Environmental Protection Division
Consultation Period: 30 Aug 2021 - 24 Sep 2021
Status: Closed - Summary of Responses
Consultation Outcome
NEA’S RESPONSES TO COMMENTS RECEIVED FROM THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE PROPOSED CONTROL OF 5 NEW CHEMICALS
1 The National Environment Agency (NEA) has concluded its public consultation on the proposed control of 5 chemicals under review by Multilateral Environmental Agreements . The 4-week consultation exercise was open for public comments from 30 Aug 2021 to 24 Sep 2021.
2 NEA received 6 responses from this consultation exercise. Overall, the respondents were supportive of the proposed control of the 5 new chemicals under the Second Schedule of the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and the Schedule of the EPM (HS) Regulation. Some provided feedback. NEA’s responses to the feedback are summarised in the table below.
S/N | Key Feedback | NEA's Response |
|---|---|---|
1 | Consider regulating the 5 identified chemicals as hazardous substances only upon their listing under the Annexes of Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. | NEA will only implement the obligations of the Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions (i.e. Prior Informed Consent procedure, elimination, restriction) when the chemicals are adopted by Parties for listing in the respective Annexes of the Conventions. The means to implementing the obligations is by listing the 5 identified chemicals as controlled hazardous substances under the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and EPM (Hazardous Substances) Regulations. |
2 | Consider excluding (i) the chemicals that exist as impurities and (ii) the chemicals in products that are present in concentrations that do not require any classification and/or labelling based on Globally Harmonised System from licensing controls | Unintentional trace quantities of the chemicals present as contaminants in products will be exempted from the proposed regulatory control, as allowed for and in alignment with the provisions under Stockholm Convention and Rotterdam Convention. NEA may require relevant supporting documentation (e,g. safety datasheets, analytical reports, etc.) to be furnished when such cases surface. |
3 | Consider exempting products containing Dechlorane Plus (DP) and UV-328 that are already placed in the market | The proposed domestic controls are aligned with the obligations of the Stockholm Convention when the 5 chemicals are adopted for control by the Parties. This includes the type of products or articles that are adopted for exemption. NEA recognises the concerns raised by industry on whether products containing DP and UV-328 that are already placed in the market will be prohibited for sales. Similar to the approach taken for other controlled hazardous substances (e.g. perfluorooctanoic acid that was listed in Annex A under the Stockholm Convention in 2019), the industry will be allowed to deplete its existing stock of DP and UV-328, including their products which are already placed in the local market, before the effective date of the obligation. |
3 NEA would like to thank all stakeholders who participated in the consultation exercise. We look forward to your active participation again in our future public consultation.
Detailed Description
Introduction
The National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore is seeking feedback on regulating 5 additional chemicals as hazardous substances (HS) under the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and EPM (HS) Regulations. The consultation period will last 4 weeks from 30 Aug 2021 to 24 Sep 2021.
Background
2 The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (“Stockholm Convention”) and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure (“Rotterdam Convention”) are currently reviewing 5 additional chemicals for control under the Conventions. As a Party to these Conventions, Singapore will be obliged to restrict and/or eliminate the manufacture, trade and use of these chemicals once they are adopted for control under these Conventions. More information on the Conventions can be found at their websites1.
Complying with International Obligations
3 The 5 additional chemicals are listed below, with more details at Annex 1:
Convention | Parties’ Eventual Obligations | Additional Chemicals Proposed For Control |
|---|---|---|
Rotterdam | Regulate the international trade of the chemicals using the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure where the export of the listed chemicals can only take place with the consent of the receiving country. | i. Amitrole |
Stockholm | Eliminate, restrict the production and use; and/or reduce the unintentional releases of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) into the environment for these chemicals | i. Dechlorane Plus (DP) |
4 The obligations will come into effect between 9 months to a year from the date of adoption by Parties at the Conference of Parties (COP) to the Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention. Thus, the obligations for Parties to control the 5 additional chemicals, if the proposal is adopted at the 15th COP in Jun 2022, will take effect from 1 Mar 2023 at the earliest.
Licensing Control
5 NEA intends to implement control of the 5 chemicals by regulating them as HS under the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and EPM (HS) Regulations to ensure that Singapore is able to comply with its new obligations to the Conventions upon Parties’ decision to include these chemicals for control. The licensing controls to be implemented in Singapore, tentatively by 1 Mar 2023, are as follows: -
(a) Companies that import/export, offer for sale, store, use or transport the regulated chemicals will be required to apply for a HS licence2 ; and
(b) Companies that purchase the regulated chemicals from local suppliers for own use and storage will be required to apply for a HS permit 3.
Public Consultation
6 This proposal is released for the purpose of consultation. All comments received during the consultation exercise will be reviewed and may be incorporated into the final measures. Parties wishing to provide feedback can submit their comments to lee_chee_siang@nea.gov.sg by 24 Sep 2021.
7 In order to ensure that the consultation is productive and focused, respondents are requested to adhere to the following guidelines when providing their feedback:
a. Identify yourself as well as the organisation you represent (if any) so that NEA may follow up with you to clarify on any issue where necessary;
b. Be clear and concise in your comments;
c. Focus your comments on the proposal and how it can be improved; and
d. Substantiate your points with illustrations, examples, data or alternative suggestions.
1 Stockholm Convention at http://www.pops.int and Rotterdam Convention at http://www.pic.int
2 https://sso.agc.gov.sg/SL/EPMA1999-RG3
3 https://sso.agc.gov.sg/SL/EPMA1999-RG4?DocDate=20110801&ProvIds=P1IV-