Japan Designates PFOA and its Salts as Class I Specified Chemical Substances

The Japanese “Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, Etc.” (also known as the “Chemical Substance Control Law” (CSCL)), aims to prevent environmental pollution caused by chemical substances that pose a risk to human health and interference with the habitation and growth of plants and animals.

The list of Class I Specified Chemical Substances specified by the Cabinet Order covers chemical substances that are persistent, highly bioaccumulative and have a risk of long-term toxicity to humans or other animals at the top of the food chain. Businesses are required to receive permission to manufacture and import these substances.

The Cabinet Order designates “2,2,2-trichloro-1-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl) ethanol (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). Businesses are not permitted to import products containing any PFOA and/or its salts that designated by the Cabinet Order according to Article 7 of the Order for Enforcement of the Act. 
Products included are:

1. Water-resistant paper and oil-resistant paper
2. Water-repellent textiles and oil-repellent textiles
3. Cleaning agents
4. Anti-reflection agents used in the manufacture of semiconductors
5. Paints and varnish
6. Water repellent and oil repellent
7. Adhesives and sealing fillers
8. Fire extinguishers, fire-extinguishing agents, and fire-extinguishing foam
9. Toners
10. Water-resistant clothes and oil-resistant clothes
11. Water-repellent floor coverings and oil-repellent floor coverings
12. Floor waxes
13. Photographic paper

In the interim, the Cabinet Order designates fire extinguishers, fire-extinguishing agents, and fire-extinguishing foam in which 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).

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Reference

1. Cabinet Decision on 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.

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