Taiwan Regulatory News

On 17 September 2025, Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment (MoENV) announces draft amendments to the Regulations Governing Water Pollution Prevention Measures and Testing Reporting Management. To str...

On 17 September 2025, Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment (MoENV) announces draft amendments to the Regulations Governing Water Pollution Prevention Measures and Testing Reporting Management. To strengthen water quality protection,  The revision emphasizes digitalized monitoring, stricter accountability for operators, and enhanced transparency to prevent data falsification.

Key amendments include:

1. Data-driven and Smart Management
   Enterprises or sewerage systems with permitted daily discharge volumes of 10,000 tons or more will be required to install independent electronic meters and automatic water quality/quantity monitoring devices at critical points of their wastewater treatment facilities. Monitoring data must be directly transmitted to authorities, shifting management from passive inspection to proactive oversight.

2. Stricter Responsibility for Operators and Service Providers
   A new definition for “automatic monitoring service agencies” has been introduced. Enterprises or sewerage systems must register their contracted service providers. If falsified data is detected and confirmed during the contract period, the responsible agency’s name will be publicly disclosed and the enterprise will be required to change service providers.

3. Direct Data Transmission to Prevent Fraud
   Improvements to the automatic monitoring and data transmission system include standardized communication formats and direct transfer of raw monitoring data. This ensures reliability and integrity of reported information.

The Ministry stated that these changes will strengthen deterrence against illegal pollution and create a fairer compliance environment for law-abiding enterprises.

Relevance to Chemical Regulation and Compliance
For industries handling chemical substances, the revised wastewater monitoring rules increase compliance obligations related to pollutant discharge. Chemical manufacturers and downstream users must ensure that their wastewater treatment processes meet legal discharge limits and that all monitoring data is accurate and digitally traceable. These measures align with broader regulatory trends emphasizing transparency, environmental accountability, and stricter enforcement of pollutant management.

The draft amendments are open for public comment within 60 days of announcement.

On 5 September 2025, Taiwan’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announces that it will hold three regional seminars from October 1 to 8, 2025 to guide employers and occupationa...

On 5 September 2025, Taiwan’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announces that it will hold three regional seminars from October 1 to 8, 2025 to guide employers and occupational safety personnel on workplace environmental monitoring, exposure assessment practices, and reporting via the OSHA monitoring and exposure management system.

Under Taiwan’s regulations, employers are required to develop monitoring plans before conducting workplace environmental measurements and report both the plans and results to the OSHA system 15 days before and 45 days after sampling, respectively. These seminars aim to help organizations improve the quality of their monitoring plans, familiarize themselves with the system’s operation, and understand newly added functionalities.

Seminar details:

• New Taipei City – October 1, 13:30–16:30, Taiwan Cultural & Creative Training Center (B401, Banqiao) Register

• Taichung – October 3, 13:30–16:30, ITRI Taichung Learning Center (402, Zhongke Building) Register

• Kaohsiung – October 8, 13:30–16:30, China Productivity Center Kaohsiung Service Office (Fifth Classroom) Register

Each session is free of charge and limited to 50 participants per location. Attendees completing the full session will receive 3 hours of occupational safety and health continuing education credit, registered according to their professional status.

The seminars will cover:

• Practical steps for executing workplace environmental monitoring

• Legal requirements and exposure standards

• Classification of physical and chemical hazards and sampling equipment

• Developing monitoring plans and proper record-keeping

For inquiries, contact Mr. Lin at Pro2E Information Co., Ltd., tel: (02) 2741-3239, email: oemd@pro2e.com.tw.

OSHA encourages all occupational safety and health personnel and those responsible for workplace monitoring to participate and improve their compliance and monitoring skills.

On 9 September 2025, Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment(MEO) reports that drinking water tests for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are compliant with national standards, and it has now issu...

On 9 September 2025, Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment(MEO) reports that drinking water tests for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are compliant with national standards, and it has now issued guideline values for six additional emerging contaminants to strengthen water quality management. The new substances include germanium, thallium, boron, microcystin-LR, DEHP (a plasticizer), and the total sum of 20 PFAS compounds.

The Ministry revised the drinking water quality standards last November to include PFAS limits, becoming one of the first countries in Asia to implement such regulations. Under the new standards, PFOA + PFOS must not exceed 50 ng/L and PFOS + PFHxS must not exceed 70 ng/L. Since this year, testing has been conducted at 130 large-scale water treatment plants, covering 91% of the national water supply, with all results meeting the standards.

Analysis shows that over 96% of samples for PFOA + PFOS were either undetected or at less than a quarter of the standard, with only isolated cases in central Taiwan reaching about half the limit. For PFOS + PFHxS, 98% of samples were below a quarter of the limit, confirming that drinking water PFAS levels are generally safe nationwide. Surface water sources tend to have lower PFAS than groundwater, with the north, south, and eastern regions showing particularly low concentrations.

According to the Ministry, guideline values for emerging contaminants are updated continuously, following expert consultation and international trends such as the EU Drinking Water Directive. The new total PFAS guideline is 100 ng/L, and local environmental agencies and water utilities have been instructed to implement monitoring according to these values.

The Ministry also noted that future updates will follow international developments, with the National Environmental Research Institute enhancing testing methods and capacity, including total organofluorine screening techniques, to ensure Taiwan’s drinking water remains safe and aligned with global standards.

On 9 September 2025, TaiWan's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announces that it will host free online seminars on October 21 and 22, 2025, to introduce updates to the Globally Harmonized...

On 9 September 2025, TaiWan's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announces that it will host free online seminars on October 21 and 22, 2025, to introduce updates to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) and outline the direction of upcoming regulatory amendments.

Taiwan’s national standard CNS 15030 (Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) has already been revised in line with the 8th edition of the GHS Purple Book. The government plans to update the Regulations for Labelling and Hazard Communication of Hazardous Chemicals next year to reflect these changes.

The seminars, organized by OSHA and executed by the Safety and Health Technology Center (SAHTECH), will provide an overview of Taiwan’s GHS implementation, highlight key changes in Purple Book version 8, and present initial directions for revising hazard labelling and communication rules.

Each session is free of charge and limited to 250 participants, with registration opening on September 19 at 9:00 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants must register online, and confirmation details will be sent by email the day before the event.

Seminar details

• October 21, 2025 (Tuesday), 13:45–15:00 Registration link

• October 22, 2025 (Wednesday), 13:45–15:00 Registration link

The sessions are intended for occupational safety and health professionals and industry stakeholders with prior GHS experience.

For further information, contact Ms. Lin at SAHTECH, tel: (06) 293-7770.

On 18 June 2025, Taiwan’s authorities hosts an online briefing to guide registrants on preparing and submitting hazard and exposure assessment data for existing chemical substances under the “Regu...

On 18 June 2025, Taiwan’s authorities hosts an online briefing to guide registrants on preparing and submitting hazard and exposure assessment data for existing chemical substances under the “Regulations on Registration of New and Existing Chemicals.”

The first phase of the regulations required 106 existing chemicals to complete standard registration, with most registrants having submitted items 1–7 of Appendix 3 by the end of 2024. The next step, according to Article 18, paragraph 2, is to submit items 8 and 9 of Appendix 4—hazard and exposure assessment data—for standard registrations at Level 2 or above.

To assist registrants, the authorities selected four chemicals as examples:

Antimony Trioxide (CAS 1309-64-4)

Sulfuric Acid (CAS 7664-93-9)

Toluene (CAS 108-88-3)

Zinc Oxide (CAS 1314-13-2)

Registrants are required to confirm hazard assessment report examples by the end of 2025 and complete submission of hazard and exposure information by the end of 2026.

The online session covered deadlines, report confirmation procedures, required data per registration type, and submission methods. Non-registrants of the four substances were also invited to join to understand general data preparation practices.

Event details:

• Date: June 18, 2025

• Time: 10:00–12:00

• Platform: Google Meet

• Resources: Presentation Slides, YouTube Video

Agenda:

• 10:00–10:20: Overview of existing chemical standard registration

• 10:20–11:00: Submission procedures for hazard and exposure assessment data

• 11:00–11:30: Methods for submitting data

• 11:30–12:00: Q&A and discussion

The briefing reinforces Taiwan’s efforts to support chemical registrants in meeting compliance requirements efficiently while ensuring comprehensive hazard and exposure assessments.

On August 8, Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor officially amended several provisions of the Regulations on the Registration of New Chemical Substances, aiming to cut down on redundant procedures and make c...

Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment has announced stricter controls on several high- risk chemicals, including PFOS, PFOA, nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEO), and cycloterpenes. Starting...

Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment has announced stricter controls on several high- risk chemicals, including PFOS, PFOA, nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEO), and cycloterpenes. Starting June 1, 2025, these substances will be listed as toxic or of concern，with new concentration limits and use restrictions. 

PFAS Under Tighter Control 

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are, part of the broader group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) , They are known for their persistence in the environment and their ability to accumulate in living organisms., This poses risks to ecosystems and human health. Following international conventions likeIn line with the Stockholm Convention, Taiwan is now regulating over 350 related PFAS compounds. 

Stricter Limits on NP and NPEO 

NP and NPEO, which are classified as endocrine disruptors, have been banned in household cleaning products in Taiwan since 2007. Now, stricter rules will cap their use at 0.1% in cleaning products and high-risk applications, and ban the import of such products. 

Cycloterpenes Ban in Specific Applications 

Due to their toxicity and risk of bioaccumulation, cycloterpenes,  will be banned in antifouling paints, systems, and biocides.

Grace Period and Industry Guidance 

To help businesses transition, the ministry will offer a grace period of one and a half to two years. Officials also encourage industries to find safer alternatives to protect health and the environment. More details are available on the Ministry of Environment’s website or in the Executive Yuan Gazette.