Israel REACH Regulation expecting to be approved by end of 2021

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.