During the month of September 2022, the National Environment Agency of Singapore has proposed regulations on hazardous substances on 2 different occasions.
On 23 September 2022 the following three substances/groups of substances were regulated as hazardous substances under the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and the Environmental Protection and Management (Hazardous Substances) (EPM(HS)) Regulations.
- decabrominated diphenyl ether (decaBDE)
- pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds
- perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds
Import and export of the compounds has been prohibited, except for specific uses allowed under the Stockholm Convention. From 22 October 2022 DecaBDE and PFOA were adopted into Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention. This signifies that the import and export for specific uses as allowed under the Stockholm Convention is now subject to the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure of the Rotterdam Convention. Therefore, prior approval from the Chemical Control and Management Department (CCMD) must be obtained for every export of these chemicals and their products.
PFHxS (including its salts and PFHxS-related compounds) are listed in Annex A of the Stockholm Convention. The manufacture, import and export of PFHxS, its salts and PFHxS-related compounds, as well as products containing these chemicals, will not be allowed in Singapore from 17 June 2023. Companies that have stocks of the chemicals and/or their products that were imported before 17 June 2023 are allowed to deplete their stocks locally.
On 26 September 2022, just three days after the previous announcement, the NEA publicized that another five chemicals will be controlled as hazardous chemicals under the EPMA and the EPM(HS) Regulations starting on 1 March 2023. The five chemicals are:
- Amitrole
- Nonylphenol and Nonylphenol Ethoxylates
- Iprodione
- Dechlorane Plus
- UV-328
Of these five chemicals, Amitrole, nonylphenol/nonylphenol ethoxylates, and iprodione are listed under the Rotterdam Convention while dechlorane plus and UV-328 are listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
Companies that manufacture, import, export, or sell these compounds must require a Hazardous Substance License while end-users that purchase, store and use them must obtain a Hazardous Substances Permit. Traders are required to use the appropriate Harmonized System and Product Codes from 1 March 2023 when declaring their import and export. All applications will be processed and approved by the Chemical Control and Management Department (CCMD).
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