On June 16, 2023, the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment introduced a preliminary draft for an announcement regarding the inventory of highly restricted hazardous chemical substances (2023 version). This draft announcement seeks to amend the existing inventory from the 2020 edition.

Included in the proposed Announcement is Annex 1, which provides a comprehensive list of highly restricted chemical substances, complete with their respective names, CAS numbers, custom numbers, control classifications, and approved uses.

Importers and exporters are obligated to secure an environmental management clearance notification for the import and export of toxic chemicals that fall within the purview of the listed chemical substances. This clearance notification must be obtained prior to initiating any import or export activities. The procedures and prerequisites for submitting applications for import and export are exhaustively detailed in Annexes 2 and 3.

In Annex 1, there are 9 categories of substances earmarked for inclusion, which are as follows:

1.     Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts, and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOS category).

2.     Mercury.

3.     Tetramethyllead.

4.     Tetraethyllead.

5.     Polychlorinated terphenyls (PCT).

6.     Tributyltin compounds.

7.     Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs).

8.     Decabromodiphenyl ether.

9.     Perfluorooctanoic acid, its salts, and related compounds (PFOA category).

Annex 2 endeavors to elucidate the step-by-step instructions for processing notifications concerning the clearance of environmental management for the importation of toxic chemicals.

Conversely, Annex 3 aims to meticulously delineate the guidelines for addressing notifications related to the environmental management clearance for the export of toxic chemicals.