PRTR substances:PRTR information plaza Japan

MOE Home > Health&Chemicals > PRTR information plaza Japan > Background to Japanese PRTR > PRTR substances

contents

Background to Japanese PRTR

	Overview of the PRTR system
	PRTR substances
	Who reports to the PRTR?
	What must be reported?
	Estimated releases outside notification

PRTR substances

Chemical substances that are subject to the PRTR are called Class I Designated Chemical Substances.

Class I Designated Chemical Substances are designated in the PRTR order and determined based on advice given by the Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food Sanitation Council (MHLW), the Chemical Substances Council (METI), and the Central Environment Council (MOE). Hazardous substances are selected based on their degree of hazard and the possibility of exposure.

* Hazard = Destruction of human health, habitat and growth of plants and animals, and/or the ozone layer

	In order to pursue suitable management of chemical substances on the part of business operators, the hazard of raw material/resources and the handling precautions must be recognized.

	Therefore, under “The Act on Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion of Improvements to the Management Thereof ”, the business operators are required to provide the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) to the counterpart when transactions of Class I and II designated chemical substances(and products containing them) occurred between business operators.The SDS shall include information on physical and chemical properties and handling precautions of the substance.

	Class II designated chemical substances are not subject to the PRTR system.

Class I Designated Chemical Substances

462 substances: Class I Designated Chemical Substances specified in the Order.

Class I Designated Chemical Substances are those that come under any of the following conditions of hazard and are recognized as being persistent in the environment over a substantial area:

	*Chemical substances that may be hazardous to human health and/or may adversely affect the ecosystem,
	*Chemical substances that may easily form hazardous chemical substances through a naturally-occurring chemical transformation,
	*Chemical substances that deplete the ozone layer.

Japan designates the specific substances such as carcinogens, and regulates them with more stringent rules than non-specific PRTR substances among the PRTR substances. Within the 462 substances, 15 carcinogen substances are designated as “Specific Class I Designated Chemical Substance.” For these 15 substances, the threshold for reporting business operators based on annual amount handled is set to 0.5t (1t for others).

Specific Class I Designated Chemical Substance
CAS	Substance
1332-21-4	asbestos
75-21-8	ethylene oxide
-	cadmium and its compounds
-	chromium (VI) compounds
75-01-4	chloroethylene; vinyl chloride
-	dioxins
-	lead compounds
-	nickel compounds
-	arsenic and its inorganic compounds
106-99-0	1,3-butadiene
75-26-3	2-bromopropane
-	beryllium and its compounds
98-07-7	benzylidyne trichloride
71-43-2	benzene
50-00-0	formaldehyde

Class II Designated Chemical Substances

100 substances: Class II Designated Chemical Substances specified in the Order.

Class II Designated Chemical Substances are those that come under any of the following conditions of hazard and are expected to occur less frequently in the environment:

	*Chemical substances that may be hazardous to human health and/or may adversely affect the ecosystem,
	*Chemical substances that may easily form hazardous chemical substances through naturally-occurring chemical transformation,
	*Chemical substances that deplete the ozone layer.

For Further information on PRTR substances, go to “Substances”


Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan Godochosha No. 5, Kasumigaseki 1-2-2, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8975, Japan. Tel: +81-(0)3-3581-3351 E-mail: MOE@env.go.jp >>Location (Map) \| Privacy Policy \| Copyright / Link \|