Taiwanese EPA Adds 15 Substances to Concerned Chemical List

On January 12, 2023, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration supplemented a total of 15 chemical substances to the concerned chemical list in the following three categories:

• Five substances with concerns about food safety risks;
• Two new psychoactive substances (NPS); and
• Eight explosive precursors.

The production, import, sale, use, and storage of these 15 chemical substances will be subject to tightened regulations in Taiwan. Any operation of these chemicals must obtain relevant approval before February 1, 2024.

Five Substances with Food Safety Risks Concerns

For public health consideration, the Taiwanese EPA lists lead tetroxide (namely red lead) as a substance with concerns about food safety risks, as in August 2020, a Chinese Medicine Clinic mixed lead tetroxide with the forbidden medicine cinnabar. Long-term ingestion of lead tetroxide may cause lead poisoning, leading to neuropathy such as ataxia, epilepsy, coma, encephalopathy, or damage to various organs such as the kidneys, heart, reproductive system, and endocrine system. For this reason, lead tetroxide has been listed as a controlled substance, aiming to prevent the occurrence of similar accidents from the source.

EPA also lists the following four chemicals as substances with concerns about food safety risks:

• lead monoxide that will shorten the production process of preserved eggs;
• sodium sulfide that can increase the smell of sulfur in stinky tofu; and
• sodium thiocyanate and β-Naphthol that can extend the shelf life of dairy products or soy sauce.

Eight Explosive Precursors

EPA lists eight explosive precursors as the concerned chemicals due to their hazardous properties and threats to public safety and human health, these include:

• ammonium calcium nitrate which has been used by international terrorists to make explosives;
• four substances, including ammonium perchlorate, sodium perchlorate, sodium nitrate, and calcium nitrate that are used as raw materials in fireworks and crackers. Criminals have historically used fireworks/crackers to make homemade bombs;
• nitromethane and sodium azide that will explode violently under high heat or collision; and
• aluminum phosphide that can easily react with water or acid to produce hydrogen phosphide, and will explode at high temperatures by spontaneous combustion and reaction with oxidizers.

Two New Psychoactive Substances (NPS)

In addition, to safeguard the physical health of young people and prevent them from NPS abuse, the EPA takes precedence to list the 1,4-Butanediol and the (S)-5,6,6a,7-tetrahydro-1,2,9,10-tetramethoxy-6-methyl-4H-dibenzo[de,g]quinolone, (which has not been notified as a drug), as the concerned chemicals based on lists of chemicals notified to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes by countries worldwide.

According to EPA, NPS and chemicals with food safety risks shall be subject to manufacture, import, purchase, use, and storage management. Specifically, they must meet the following requirements: approval, label, online record, and monthly report. Online transactions or unlicensed operations shall be prohibited. Moreover, chemicals with food safety risks must include the Chinese characters “禁止用于食品” (prohibited in food) on their packages.

Explosive precursors must be subject to manufacture, import, purchase, transportation, use, and storage management. Specifically speaking, they must meet the following requirements: approval, label, online record, monthly report, and emergency prevention. Online transactions or unlicensed operations will be prohibited. If these products reach graded handling quantity, operators shall take the following measures based on provisions of accident prevention and emergency response: submission of hazard prevention and response plans, liability insurance, personnel training, the establishment of joint prevention organization, emergency and alarm equipment, and manifest notification.

After these 15 substances are included as the concerned chemicals, EPA will prohibit any selling of these chemicals on platforms where parties involved cannot be identified including on the Internet. Operators of these chemicals shall obtain relevant approvals, complete labels and operation records, and make regular reports and other necessary procedures before February 1, 2024. A transitional period will not be given to parties that are not existing operators.

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Reference

Taiwan EPA Notification