- Department:Evaluation Management Division
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) just listed short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) as Class I toxic chemical substance in response to United Nations (UN)’ Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and also revised the current list. The revision includes moving decabromodiphenyl ether to Class I and II toxic chemical substance and banning the use of hexachloro-1,3-butadiene in order to align with the world.
EPA pointed out that the SCCPs, decabromodiphenyl ether and hexachloro-1,3-butadiene present POPs’ features, such as the difficulty to disintegrate in the natural environment or prolonged half-life of metabolism in the body of living creatures. All of them are hazardous to human health and to natural ecosystem, and are now included in the Annex A (Elimination) of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. UN has asked all state parties to ban these three substances or enforce necessary restrictions on their production that regulated in this convention, unless such substances are registered by the state parties for specific purposes.
EPA indicated that SCCPs is mostly used as an additive in the natural and synthetic rubber manufacturing for making conveyor belts, synthetic leather and plasticizer; decabromodiphenyl ether is a widely used as bromine-based fire retardant to suppress the combustion of organic compounds, it is commonly used in electronic products, clothing and furniture to reduce the flammability of these products; and hexachloro-1,3-butadiene is often used as solvent for elastomers and heat transfer liquid.
EPA conducted a survey on the usage of these substances in the domestic industries. In Taiwan, SCCPs is a byproduct of the production of chlorinated paraffin and mainly used for the purposes of research, testing and education; the use of decabromodiphenyl ether is being reduced in Taiwan as this substance is phasing out around the world; and hexachloro-1,3-butadiene is rarely used except for research, testing and education. From the survey, EPA evaluated that the strict management of these substances has little or no impact on domestic industries.
EPA urged all the operators of SCCPs, decabromodiphenyl ether and hexachloro-1,3-butadiene to apply for permit or approval for the transporting, manufacturing, importing, selling, usage and storage of these substances within the given deadlines for the tracking of their whereabouts once the announcement is made. The requirements are provided in the attached table.
This amendment of announcement has gone through the administrative procedures of draft announcement, public hearing and discussion as specified in the Administrative Procedure Act. The details of this information are available for download at the News Section of EPA website at https://enews.moenv.gov.tw/enews/fact_index.asp and also published at the Executive Yuan Gazette Online at https://gazette.nat.gov.tw/egFront/. Please feel free to browse and review.
