Public Comments Invited Regarding a Cabinet Order Partially Amending the Enforcement Order of the Chemical Substances Control Law

The Ministry of the Environment (MOE), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) (hereinafter referred to as the "three Ministries") invite public comments regarding a cabinet order partially amending the Enforcement Order of the Law Concerning the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. (Chemical Substances Control Law) to designate Phenol,2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)- (CAS No: 3846-71-7) as Class I Specified Chemical Substance. When the amendment order is enforced, manufacture, import and use of the substance will be prohibited. The amendment also designates products of which import shall be prohibited if the substance is used.

Comments should be submitted in Japanese and will be accepted from Monday, July 2, 2007 to Tuesday, July 31, 2007.

A Class I Specified Chemical Substance is defined as one having all of the following three chemical properties; high persistency (P), high bioaccumulation (B) and chronic toxicity on human or top predators (T). The council of the three Ministries deliberated on the safety of the substance based on the testing results of the substance and concluded that the substance had all three characteristics, thus requiring the substance to be designated as Class I Specified Chemical Substance. In order to prevent environmental pollution caused by the substance, the council also required the designation of products of which import shall be prohibited if the substance is used.

Access to the drafts: The text (in Japanese) is available at the MOE. The drafts are also posted on the web page of the MOE (https://www.env.go.jp/press/8539.html).
Submission period: July 2 - July 31, 2007
Comment submission location: To be sent by post, FAX or e-mail.
Chemicals Evaluation Office, Policy Planning Division,
Environmental Health Department, MOE
1-2-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8975
FAX: 3-3581-3370
Email: chem@env.go.jp

For Japanese