The Department of Industrial Works (DIW), Ministry of Industry of Thailand, organized a seminar about the latest policy development on chemical management at the Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn on 8 December 2020. The seminar consists of 3 following agenda;
(1) Existing Chemicals Inventory — Introduction of New System
(2) Prioritization of Chemicals and Hazardous Substances
(3) Draft Regulation regarding New System of Notification of List 5.6 Hazardous Substances
The first chemical inventory announced by DIW in July 2020 listed 11,474 chemical substances that had been existed between 1995 and 2017. According to DIW, 7,062 notifications were filed between 2017 and 2019. In the end, 12,591 substances were finalized as existing chemicals between 1995 and 2019. DIW is currently working on prioritizing 12,591 existing chemical substances based on GHS classification, amount of manufacture or import, use pattern, PBT, etc. Evaluation of 3,604 substances out of 12,591 is complete and 8,987 substances are under process.
DIW will publish a new regulation in 2021 to amend the current List 5.6 notification system. One of the major changes will be to switch the system from product-based (mixture-based) to substance-based (composition-based). Additional information, such as the amount of manufacture or import, or use pattern, will be required. Notification of non-hazardous substances and CBI (classified business information) will be taken into consideration for future policy development as it is impossible to notify under the current List 5.6 notification system for existing chemicals inventory.