Japan requests hazard information for ‘default candidate substance’

On 20 September 2023, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of Environment (MOE) jointly issued a Notice requesting hazard information on a ‘default candidate substance’. The notice sets a deadline of 30 November 2023 for submitting hazard information or an offer to conduct a study. Companies planning to conduct studies in 2024 should also notify the ministries by the same deadline.

A 'default candidate substance' refers to a general chemical substance for which the government ministries lack sufficient hazard data to carry out a screening assessment for its classification as a priority assessment chemical (PAC).

The three ministries have requested the following hazard information on the substance alpha-(2-ethylhexanoyl)-omega-[(2-ethylhexanoyl)oxy]poly(oxyethylene) (CAS no: 9004-93-7):

•  Algae growth inhibition test
•  Daphnia magna acute swimming inhibition test
•  Fish acute toxicity test

 If the collected information is found to be insufficient or the obtained data is deemed unreliable for the screening assessment, the ministries will classify the substance under the default hazard class, with hazard class 1 for ecological effects and hazard class 2 for human health effects.

Subsequently, a joint ministerial council will assess the hazard and toxicity of the substance and use this information to determine whether it should be officially designated as a priority assessment chemical. This thorough evaluation process is essential to protect both the environment and public health by ensuring proper attention and scrutiny for potentially hazardous substances.

The full Japanese text of the Ministerial Notice which includes guidelines for submitting hazard information and conducting studies can be found here.