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On 21 May 2009 the Ministry of Environment Protection of China launched the closed inter ministries consultation on the proposed amendments to the Measures on the Environmental Control of New Chemical Substances....China REACH.

Information provided by the Korean Environmental Council in Europe suggests that, amongst others, the most significant changes in the proposed Measures of 21 May 2009 are as follows:

So called China REACH - the "Measures on Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances" was adopted in January 2009 and will enter into force on 15 October 2010.

The adopted regulation contains 52 articles compared to only 41 in the draft released in May 2009.

The regulations include:

China published proposals for its equivalent to the EU REACH regulations in May 2009. This aims to control the manufacture, import and use of chemicals and has similarities with the EU REACH regulations. The original proposals included very few obligations that affected substances in "articles", as fabricated products are referred to by EU REACH, although it is clear that some of the most hazardous substances could eventually be phased out in China and this could affect the availability of some process materials and possibly also fabricated products.

The Chinese Government published and has adopted amended legislation on 19 January 2010 which is due to come into force on 15 October 2010.

For a one page summary refer to this exclusive China REACH pdf.

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