___________________________________________________________________________

2010/SOM1/CD/WKSP/011
Agenda Item: Afternoon Session I

Environmentally Hazardous Substances Notification

and Registration Scheme
Submitted by: Malaysia

Case Study Workshop on the Chemicals

Sector - From Principles to Practice
Hiroshima, Japan
1-2 March 2010
 www.doe.gov.my

Department of Environment, Malaysia

ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS
SUBSTANCES (EHS)
NOTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION
SCHEME
Dr.Ab. Rahman Awang (ara@doe.gov.my)
and Hanili Ghazali (nili@doe.gov.my)

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

ROAD MAP FOR PRESENTATION

 Background to proposed scheme

 Need for the Chemical Management
 The notification scheme - objectives and purpose, definition of
EHS, scope, substances to be notified, exemptions from
notification and who to notify
 The notification process – types of notification, data to be
submitted, when and how to notify
 Proposed implementation of the scheme
 Expected output and benefits of the scheme
 Conclusion
 EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Background to the Proposed Scheme

 Many chemical substances and products are currently put

into market in Malaysia
 The influx of chemicals far surpassed the information that
are collected
 As a result, there is an uncertainty on types of chemicals
used in a wide range of consumer products
 Large percentage of existing chemicals have not been
assessed
 Government is concerned about human and environmental
exposure from toxic substances and unregulated chemicals
used in a wide range of chemical products
 Long term persistence and accumulation of many
chemicals in eco-system and humans
 Continued use of chemicals with inherently dangerous
properties such as carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive
toxicants and substances dangerous for the environment

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Need for the Chemicals Management

 Need for an overall strategy and coordination of activities in the area

of chemicals management as well as an increased capacity and
awareness of chemicals management issues among stakeholders
 Need for information on the use of hazardous chemicals in Malaysia
and for implementation of methodologies for assessment risks to
human and the environment
 Need for capacity in terms of staff and training for the management
of chemicals in general and particularly with respect to the use of risk
assessment as a chemicals management tool
 To address these needs, an EHS Notification and Registration
Scheme is proposed for implementation under the EHS Component
of the Malaysian-Danish Environmental Cooperation Programme
 EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

EHS Component Objectives

Development objective:

 An effective and sustainable management system is established that

will minimise and reduce the risks from Environmentally Hazardous
Substances

Immediate objective:

 A draft strategy and action plan for management of Environmentally

Hazardous Substances is agreed among ministerial agencies
involved in management of chemicals and their capacity for
environmentally sound management of hazardous chemical
substances has increased as a result of training and implementation
of management systems and assessment schemes

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

What is EHS?
 EHS are defined in Section 2 of the Environmental Quality Act, 1974
(Act 127) as:

Any natural or artificial substances including any raw material,

whether in a solid, semi-solid or liquid form, or in the form of gas or
vapour, or in a mixture of at least two of these substances or any
living organism intended for any environmental protection,
conservation and control activity, which can cause pollution

 For the purposes of Notification and Registration under the EQA 1974,
the following definition is used:

An EHS is a substance that is assigned a hazard category under

the GHS classification scheme or is present on a proscribed list of
internationally recognised substances of special concern
 EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

The Malaysian EHS Reference List

 The EHS Reference List adopted by the Department of Environment
Malaysia is based on the proposal for a harmonised European list of
classification and labelling of substances according to GHS. This list
has been translated from the harmonised classification and labelling
in the European Annex VI to the REGULATION (EC) No
1272/2008).

 Annex VI contains at approximately 3427 individual substances. The

reference list also includes a number of substances considered of
global concern because of endpoints not covered by the GHS
classification system.

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

About EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Objective
The EHS Notification and Registration Scheme of the Department of
Environment Malaysia (DOE) is a scheme to collect information from the
chemical industry about environmentally hazardous substances in
Malaysia.
Screenshot from N&R Website
 EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

The Purpose of EHS Notification and

Registration Scheme

 To provide the necessary information to the Malaysian Government

so as to enable the DOE and other agencies involved in chemicals
management to identify substances of concern in the country and
make decisions on how to manage these substances in a safe and
sound manner
 To establish a Malaysian EHS Register. The Malaysian EHS
Register will contain information about the identity of substances
that have been notified to DOE, their uses in Malaysia, their hazard
classifications and the accumulated amounts present in Malaysia

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

What is covered under the Scheme?

 Covers all substances not covered by other notification/registration
schemes in Malaysia and present on the EHS fulfilling the criteria for
classification as hazardous according to GHS, or until GHS is fully
implemented, the classification according to the current classification
requirements for chemicals in Malaysia.
 Other substances that are considered substances of concern due to
properties not covered by the GHS classification scheme
What is not covered under the Scheme?
 Substances for which information is already submitted to
government agencies in Malaysia by means of other legislations,
unless the substance is also used for other purposes not covered by
Pesticides, Poisons and Chemicals Weapons Convention Acts
 EHS Notification and Registration
Scheme

Substances Included in the EHS Notification

1 Petrochemicals including plastic and resins
2 Chemicals in fertilizers
3 Soaps and detergents
4 Organic chemicals
5 Oleo-chemicals
6 Industrial gases
7 Paints and paint products
8 Basic industrial chemicals
9 Rubber industry chemicals

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Substances Exempted from Notification
No Substance Type
1 Naturally-occurring materials e.g. minerals, ores and ore concentrates as well as
cement clinker
2 Incidental/end-use reaction products
3 Substances formed during the manufacture of an article
4 Mixtures (but not components of mixture )
5 Impurities
6 By-products
7 Non-isolated intermediates ie chemical substances used to manufacture other
chemical substances that are never separated from the mixture of other chemicals
inside a closed system
8 Contained site-limited intermediates
9 Transported intermediates
10 Substances manufactured solely for export
11 Substances used in research and development
12 Substances produced for test marketing
13 Substances produced in low volume (<0.1 tonnes per annum)
14 Imported finished consumer products, e.g. household products. However, it is
likely that these may be covered at a later stage of the EHS Notification and
Registration Scheme
 EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Who Shall Notify

 Manufacturers and importers of EHS and importers of chemical

mixtures or finished products that contain EHS as their constituents
 The company is an importer of individual EHS and/or chemical
mixtures or finished products containing EHS as constituents above
certain cut-off limits.
Who Shall Not Notify

 Chemical industries involved in the manufacture of chemical

mixtures or products using locally manufactured EHS or imported
EHS sourced from local suppliers as raw materials are NOT subject
to notification and registration of EHS.
 Chemical companies involved in formulation, distribution, retailing
and use of EHS or EHS containing mixtures/products from locally
sourced EHS are NOT subject to notification and registration of EHS

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

The Notification Process

 The Notification of EHS to DOE by chemical industries shall be done

in two stages:

– Basic Notification: A basic notification of EHS must first be made by all

manufacturers and importers
– Detailed Notification: A follow-up detailed notification is also required, if
the EHS is not the EHS Reference List

 The basic notification of EHS is to be carried out annually, at the

beginning of the year (data of past one/two year). Detailed
notification if required will only be carried out once, unless new
information that change the hazard classification are available for
notification

 The notification and registration shall be done on-line through the DOE’s
official website at www.doe.gov.my
 Difference Between Basic and Detail Notification of HS

Basic Notification Detail Notification

Chemical manufacturer or importer are only Chemical manufacturer or importer are required to furnish
required to furnish the following data: the following data:

Substance identification (CAS No, EC No or
Index No)
Annual tonnage in metric tons
Use of the substance
Concentration interval of substance in raw
materials or finished products (maximum and
minimum concentration)
Country of export (if imported)
Substance identification (CAS No, EC No or Index No)
Annual tonnage in metric tons
Use of the substance
Concentration interval of substance in raw materials or
finished products (maximum and minimum concentration
Country of export (if imported)

Data on Substance Identification (e.g. structural formula,

molecular weight, etc)
Data on Physical Chemical Properties (e.g. melting point,
auto-ignition temperature, etc)
Data on Physical Hazards (e.g. flammability, corrosivity to
metals, etc)
Data on Hazards to Human Health (e.g. acute toxicity,
skin corrosion/irritation, etc)
Data on Hazards to Aquatic Environment (e.g. acute
aquatic toxicity and properties like bio-accumulation, etc)
Overall GHS Classification

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Implementation
The Notification and Registration of EHS by chemical
industries in Malaysia will be implemented in phases.
Initially the scheme will be introduced on a voluntary
basis (2009).

When legislation is in place (expected date after 2010)

to start phasing in the scheme, manufacturers and
importers covered by the first phase will be required to
notify their substances. The notification will be phased
in based on tonnage and toxicity.
 EHS Notification and Registration
Scheme
Implementation
Annual Year of Implementation of EHS Notification
Tonnages
(MT) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
> 100 *+ *+
10 – Voluntary
Notification *+ *+
100
1 – 10 *+ *+
0.1 - 1 *+ *+

All substances that, under GHS classification, are

assigned an aquatic toxicity classification of ‘chronic 1’ (*)
or are ‘suspected or known human carcinogens,
reproductive toxicants or mutagens’ (+) must also be
notified during years 2011 and 2012

How do I
Notify?

Prepare an Inventory
of all Substances
and Amounts

Yes No
Inventory of EHS Are Substances
and Amounts EHS?

Inventory of Retain Data

Yes Notifiable for DOE Audit
Are Amounts
> 0.1 Tpa? EHS
and Amounts

No

Check Requirements
Retain Data For Phase In
for DOE Audit

No Is my Sector
Retain Data and Tonnage
And Notify at Notifiable now?
Appropriate Time
Yes

Complete –
forms to
Notify Each
EHS
 EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Benefits of Scheme
 It helps the industry in identifying likely data gaps which are required
for GHS classification of substances and compliance with DOSH
regulations.
 There is sufficient information available on the EHS imported into or
manufactured in Malaysia (Malaysian EHS Register) so as to be able
to identify priority substances and enable protection of people and
the environment from the possible harmful effects of these substances
 The scheme provides a means of anticipating potential problems and
facilitate the implementation of timely and appropriate control measures
for specific EHS
 The scheme provides input for the risk assessment of EHS and thereby a
means of anticipating potential problems and facilitate the implementation
of timely and appropriate control measures for specific EHS. It provides a
mechanism for identifying, evaluating and controlling of EHS

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Awareness Raising and Training

 The DOE and CICM conducted awareness seminar for

importers and manufacturers of EHS

 Hands-on training were conducted for importers and

manufacturers of EHS to familiarise with the on-line
EHSNR system
 EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

Status Report on Voluntary EHS Notification and

Registration Scheme (21January 2010)
EHS Indicators Data

No. of Companies Identified as Potential EHS Notifiers 1084

No. of Chemical Companies Registered To-Date 154

No. of EHS Entered By Industry Into System 346

No. of EHS Officially Notified To DOE 215

No. of EHS Not In EHS Reference List (Detailed Notification 60

Required)

No. of EHS Officially Notified in Detail by Industry to DOE 29

EHS Notification and Registration Scheme

CONCLUSION

 The EHS Notification and Registration Scheme is the initial effort of

getting information and enabling the prioritisation, risk assessment,
risk reduction strategy and the risk reduction actions to be taken in
the future.

 Much work is needed to achieve sound management of EHS.

Therefore, the need for all those involve in EHS to commit and work
together is imperative because how everyone handle and manage
EHS will determine its impact and the future of the people and the
environment.
THANK YOU