Other Regulatory News

Colombia incorporated GHS guidelines in 2018 based on the Decreto 1.496/2018. The regulation provides guidance for ministries to implement the standard in each sector. In 2021, the Ministry of Labor is the first sector to adopt GHS under Resolución 0773/2021. 

Colombia government’s attitude toward GHS implementation has been vague until now. This first adaptation can be seen as a confirmation of the country’s adaptation of GHS at the sector’s level.  

Almost a year after the public consultation, the Ministry of Labor had agreed on the following aspects of GHS implementation:

• GHS 6th version (2015) adoption
• Follow the European CLP for labeling size
• SDS and label mandatory in Spanish
• Organizations shall keep and personal chemical inventory updated
• Chemicals’ labels must have a 27/7 emergency toll-free contact

The adaptation period differs for substances and mixtures. Substances have 24 months transitional period, while mixtures count 36 months.

Other ministries are still waiting to countersign the guidelines including Ministries of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Transport.

Colombia is one of the latest countries in South America to adopt the GHS standard. Despite its late adoption, Colombia is also advancing its national policy on chemical safety and management. In February 2021, Colombia has carried out public consultation on the comprehensive management of industrial chemicals. Colombia’s chemical policy is expected to be forwarded by the recent adoption of chemical regulation in Chile, a close neighbor, and OECD member. 

Late Update: 2021-04-30

On February 9, 2021, Chile approved its rules for the classification, labeling, and notification of dangerous chemical substances and mixtures (Decree 57) in the official gazette. The Decree 57 was promulgated in November 2019 and communicated to the WTO on 10 February 2021.

The new legislation targets manufacturers and importers of chemicals and dangerous substances that are not supervised by other regulations. 

Notifiers are requested to provide information on chemicals when dealing with 1 ton per year or above via the environmental authority portal. The notification is made on a biennial basis concerning the import or produced quantity every two year with the deadline on August 30th.

According to the law, applicants for substances for industrial use have three years to submit their first notification. As for substances for non-industrial use, it allows four years to notify. The recent deadlines are summarized below:

Decree 57 also further outlines the compulsory compliance of GHS in the country, a standard until then has been voluntary. The country has taken a step forward and decided to apply the standard to both industrial and consumer products. 

The GHS standards will phase-in following the periods:

In South America, Chile was the first country to join OECD and the first to implement and mandatory national inventory. It can be expected that other countries in the region will soon follow up and update their chemical agenda. 

Latest update: 2021-03-30

    When Israel joined the OECD in 2010, the country planned to establish a national mechanism for registering chemicals. There are various regulations in Israel that regulate the ...

When Israel joined the OECD in 2010, the country planned to establish a national mechanism for registering chemicals. There are various regulations in Israel that regulate the practice of chemicals, aspects of import, production, occupation, use, maintenance, transportation, and so on. However, the existing regulation is decentralized and usually does not include a systematic assessment of the chemicals and their effects on the public and the environment in Israel.

Last year, Israel proposed a new draft law, the “Industrial Chemicals Registering Law, no 5781-2020”.  This law was notified to the World Trade Organization on January 6th, 2021. Comments can be submitted within 60 days of notification.

The mechanism proposed in the draft law is based on the following components:

• Establishment of existing chemical inventories - which will constitute a minimal information base in relation to chemicals manufactured or imported in Israel, and will include the properties of the chemical, quantities and uses for which it is intended (these predict the routes of exposure of man and the environment to him).
• Risk assessment from chemicals - is performed for selected chemicals according to criteria that relate to the risk assessment and the assessment of potential exposure to them. Additional criteria proposed in this memorandum are the existence of assessments and recommendations for the regulation of chemicals elsewhere in the world.
• Regulation of risk management from the chemical - creating limits to reduce the risk from exposure to the chemical - from the production process through the daily use of the final product to its disposal at the end of its life. It should be noted that the manner of regulation among the existing mechanisms in the world is not uniform and varies according to the powers of the mechanisms.

As part of the formulation of the bill, a comprehensive review of existing mechanisms in the world was conducted, a comprehensive consultation process took place with relevant regulators, with industry stakeholders and with environmental organizations and academic bodies involved in the subject.

Similar to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) of the US, there will be two sets of chemicals: existing and new. For new chemicals that are manufactured or imported into Israel, the Israeli entity that will be responsible for handling said chemical will have to register it 30 days prior to its manufacture or importation. The threshold for exemption from registration is 10 tonnes per year.

Israel’s Ministry of Environment Protection expects the country’s draft law to be approved by the end of 2021. With this timeline, the proposed effective date of the law is March 1, 2023, and if enacted, manufacturers and importers will have until September 1, 2024 to submit the required data and register the substances.

update: 2021-01-31

In 2020 Colombia became the third Latin American country to join the OECD. As a membership requirement, the country has to develop a chemicals management system, including chemical regulation. The chemical regulation draft named integral management of chemical substances for industrial use was posted in December 2020 and notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) on January 4, 2021. The new proposal is open for public participation until February 26, 2021. 

This draft is now under review from industries in Colombia, and the major concern is mostly related to registry requirements and hazard-based provision. Colombia's National Association of Industries (ANDI), for example, expressed their concerns over the chemical regulation presented in July 2020, specifically for the obligation to register the industrial chemicals.

Colombia's draft proposes establishing a national inventory. The current draft proposes that all substances manufactured or imported to Colombia which present at least one GHS hazard and exceed 100 kg/year would need to require information such as: 

• manufacturer/importer information; 
• annual production or import volume of chemical; 
• chemical substance identification (if applicable, CAS number); 
• identified uses. 

The latest draft scopes those substances identified and classified by the GHS, excepted those controlled by existing regulation, mercury and composed, natural substances, polymers, substances in customs transit, non-isolated intermediaries, and samples without commercial value.

In addition to the Inventory, a registry is foreseen as complementary data for those substances identified as priorities. The criteria for priority substances will be defined on further regulations. Those Importers and manufacturers that deal with 100 Kg of substance or more will have to conduct the environmental and health risk assessment and propose risk reduction and management plans. 

Colombia adopted the GHS 6th Edition in 2018, and it might be the first comprehensive chemicals management framework adopted in Latin America, ahead of Chile and Mexico. The draft is currently published for public consultation, and this might be the last step before the bill is introduced.

Update: 2021-01-29