각국의 화학물질관리제도의 시행과 우리의 대응방안 - 중국의 신화법을 중심으로 -

Abstract

As the awareness for environmental protection is increasing, such phenomena can also be found in the field of international trade. Along with the EU’s REACH which entered into force since June, 2007, the regulation of chemicals is undergoing rapid changes worldwide. Following the EU, Japan has also recently amended the “Act on Evaluation of Chemicals and Systems”, thereby strengthening the review process of chemical substances. Also, the amendment of the U.S’s Toxic Substances Control Act and Taiwanese adoption of licensing system of new chemical substances, which is to be entered into force in June 2011, are major changes that will substantially influence internationally. China’s Department of Environment Protection announced its adoption of the Act on Management of New Chemical Substances on October 15, 2003. This Act designates those chemical substances, which has not been already registered under the list of chemical substances that has either been imported or manufactured within China, as new chemical substances. It also requires both manufacturers and importers to register new chemical substances while in the process of manufacture or before importing. Under the China’s aforementioned Act, new substances which has been imported or produced within China are classified into certain level according to the quantity of chemical substances or risks. These chemicals are managed by regulating on notification, evaluation, registration and management procedures. Therefore, while either producers or importers must fulfill the registration process, currently the degree of recognition by Korean corporations is still at the low level compared to EU’s REACH. Now, China is the largest export market for Korean chemical corporations so that the changes in regulation of chemical substances in China will significantly influence the export volume of Korean corporations. Therefore, the government, in joint conjunction with academics, should not only promote and educate those exporting corporations of this regulation, and also find out supporting means in practice.