Updates to Class I Specified Chemical Substances in Japan – Three Additional Stockholm Convent Substances Included

On August 10, 2023, the Manufacturing Industries Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) officially published an announcement concerning three substances newly listed as prohibited substances at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-11), as the Class I Specified Chemical Substances in the Chemical Substances Control Law.

Earlier on SC COP-11 in May 2023, consensus was reached to include these three substances in Annex A (Elimination) in the Stockholm Convention's list of Persistent Organic Pollutants, aiming to promote environmental protection and health preservation.

The three substances are:

• Methoxychlor – Chemical substance name: Methoxy［2,2,2-Trichloro-1-( methoxyphenyl) Ethyl］benzene;
• Dechlorane Plus – Chemical substance name: 1,4:7,10-Dimethanodibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene, 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-; and
• UV-328 – Chemical substance name: 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-ditertpentylphenol.

These three substances will be prohibited for uses other than a few specific purposes. Thus, during the 229th meeting of the Chemical Review Committee held in July 2023, the persistence, high bioaccumulation potential, and long-term toxicity of Methoxychlor, Dechlorane Plus, and UV-328 were confirmed after in-depth discussions on the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL).

It is reported that these measures will be officially implemented after the fall of 2024.

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