What’s Trending In Compliance In January 2024

This blog was originally posted on 22nd January, 2024. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.

At Compliance & Risks we help manufacturers, retailers and their supply chain partners to monitor and manage global regulations via C2P, our compliance knowledge management platform.

We break down some of the top compliance trends in January 2024 that are generating the most interest globally this month.

1. Japan: Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL “Kashinho”) Enforcement Ordinance, Cabinet Order No. 202, 1974 – Proposed Amendment – (on designation of Methoxychlor, Dechlorane Plus and UV-328 as Class 1 Specified Chemical Substances) Draft Order, December 2023

On 12 December 2023, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) jointly proposed an amendment to the Chemical Substances Control Law Enforcement Order.

The amendment aims to implement the decisions made during the United Nations National Conference (COP11) in May 2023, which amended the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants to include Methoxychlor, Dechlorane Plus, and UV-328 in Annex A (Elimination) of the Convention.

The following substances shall be added to Article 1 on the list of Class I Specified Chemical Substances.

• Methoxy[2,2,2-trichloro-1-(methoxyphenyl)ethyl]benzene (hereinafter referred to as methoxychlor)
• 1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10,13,13,14,14-dodecachloro-1,4,4a,5,6,6a,7,10,10a,11,12,12a-Dodecahydro-1,4:7,10-dimethanodibenzo[a,e][8]Annurene (hereinafter referred to as Dechlorane Plus)
• 2-(2H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-bis(2-methylbutan-2-yl)phenol (hereinafter referred to as UV-328)

The manufacture and import of these chemical substances shall be prohibited, requiring permission for both their manufacture and import.

Article 7 of the draft designates the following products that businesses are not permitted to import, in which any Dechlorane Plus and UV-328 are used:

• For Dechlorane Plus
  • Adjusted additives used for providing flame retardant properties to resins;
  • Silicone rubber;
  • Lubricants;
  • Adhesives and tapes;
  • Parts and components for electrical and electronic products, housings, electrical wiring, and cables.
• For UV-328
  • Paints and varnishes;
  • Lubricants;
  • Fillers intended for adhesives, tapes, and sealants;
  • Ultraviolet absorbers for plastics.

The use of methoxychlor, Dechlorane Plus, and UV-328 shall be prohibited without exceptions, such as essential use, which is a use specified by the Enforcement Ordinance.

2. USA: Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Final Rule, 40 CFR Parts 84, October 2021 – Amendment – (on restricting HFCs with high global warming potential in refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, foam, and aerosol sectors) Final Rule, 88 FR 73098, October 2023

In this rule, EPA is restricting the use of HFCs, neat or used in blends, with high global warming potentials (GWPs) within the refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump (RACHP), foam, and aerosol sectors. EPA is prohibiting the manufacture, import, or installation of certain equipment across approximately 40 subsectors, either based on overall GWP limits or restrictions on use of specific HFCs.

The compliance dates for these restrictions vary depending on the subsector, ranging from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2028. The final rule prohibits the sale, distribution, and export of factory completed products not in compliance with relevant restrictions within three years after the prohibition on manufacture and import.

EPA is not regulating components required for service or repair of existing systems at this time. EPA will develop labeling, annual reporting, and recordkeeping processes for products and specified components, imported or domestic, that use or are intended to use HFCs.

EPA is developing process and requirements for submitting petitions re: the AIM Act, and is outlining how the Agency will consider the factors in AIM in evaluating petitions.

3. Japan: Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury Act, Enforcement Order No. 378, 2015 – Amendment – (on addition of five products to “specific mercury-using products”), Order No.344, 2023

On 1 December 2023, the Japanese Cabinet issued an amendment to “Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury Act Enforcement Order”. 

The amendment aims to revise the list of mercury-using products and mercury-using manufacturing processes at the Fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-4) – Second segment (21 March 2022 – 25 March 2022).

The amendment includes the following five products in Article 1 on the list of specified mercury-using products. ‘Specified mercury-containing products’ are products containing mercury that have been designated as specifically requiring regulations regarding their manufacture. The added products include:

• Strain gauges to be used in plethysmographs;
• Mercury vacuum pumps;
• Tire balancers and wheel weights;
• Photographic film and paper;
• Propellant for satellites and spacecraft.

The amendment will come into force on 1 January 2025.

4. South Africa: Regulations to Domesticate the Requirements of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, Regulations No. 3072, 2023

Adopted in February 2023, these Regulations aim to implement the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure for specific hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade. 

It imposes a general prohibition on the import and export of a chemical into or from South Africa without obtaining prior consent for importing or exporting chemicals listed in Annexure I. The prohibition does not apply to the export of a chemical that is present as an unintentional trace contaminant in products or that is to be used for laboratory-scale research or as a reference standard. 

The Regulations enter into force on 15 June 2024. 

5. Minnesota (USA): Currently Unavoidable Use of PFAS in Products, Draft Rule, December 2023

On 18 December 2023, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) proposed this draft Rule governing determinations of the currently unavoidable use of PFAS in products. 

The Rule introduces a ban, beginning on 1 January 2032, on products containing intentionally added PFAS that are sold, offered for sale or distributed in Minnesota, unless the MPCA determines by rule that specific uses of PFAS they contain are unavoidable for the moment. 

The MPCA is now soliciting opinions on the Currently Unavoidable Use of PFAS rule and sets out various questions to which written comments can be submitted until 4:30 pm on 1 March 2024.

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The top compliance trends in January 2024 is based on the most viewed regulations on C2P this month. If you would like to see C2P in action, join us for a bite-sized high-level demo to witness the true power behind C2P.

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