Global Chemical Notification Registration and Toxic Substance Management

Before marketing a new chemical, the manufacturer/importer, in order to meet the various national and international legal requirements, has to submit information in the form of a notification or registration (e.g. phys-chem, toxicological, ecotoxicological data) to support each Government’s risk assessment to determine whether the substance poses an unreasonable risk to the environment and/or human health. Some countries require pre-manufacture/import notification while for many jurisdictions, the chemical notification process is a tiered system requiring subsequent notifications as the annual amount of the imported or manufactured substance increases. Further, there are expanding global initiatives to assess chemicals already in the marketplace and subsequently take action on any chemicals found to be harmful to human health and/or the environment. Government risk management initiatives are investigating the incorporation of informed substitution and alternatives assessment to identify candidates to replace existing toxics.