Australia Consults on 24 Draft Evaluation Statements

On October 22, 2021, Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) published a notice^[1] to seek public feedback on the draft evaluation statements of 24 chemicals in accordance with the Rolling Action Plan^[2]. The consultation will end on December 17, 2021.

As clarified in the notice, most of the evaluated chemicals are used in adhesive and sealants, lubricants and greases, paints and coatings, air care products, plastic and polymer products, etc. Each of them has its own detailed draft evaluation statement, mainly covering the following contents:

• name, CAS registry number of the subject of the evaluation;

• summary of the evaluation, such as health hazards, health hazard classification, health risk;

• information on managing identified risks;

• introduction and use of the chemical (Australia/International);

• regulatory status of the chemical (Australia/International); and

• health hazard information; etc.

It is also stated in these draft evaluation statements that the information of the evaluated chemicals, including recommended hazard classifications, should be used by a person conducting a business or undertaking at a workplace (such as an employer) to determine the appropriate controls under the Model Work Health and Safety Regulations. Control measures that could be implemented to manage the risk arising from dermal, ocular and inhalation exposure to the chemical, are clearly outlined in the draft evaluation statements. According to these draft evaluations, there are several kinds of recommendations to different departments, including:

1. The AICIS recommends the Safe Work Australia (SWA) update the Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS) to add new classifications relevant to work health and safety, involving ten evaluated chemical substances: 1H-Imidazole, 1-ethenyl- (N-vinyl imidazole); 1H-Imidazole, 1-methyl-; 2,5-Cyclohexadiene-1,4-dione (p-benzoquinone); 3-Cyclohexene-1-methanol, 2,4,6-trimethyl- (isocyclogeraniol); benzenepropanol; C7-C12 linear alpha-beta unsaturated aldehydes; maleic acid; maleic acid salts; mercaptobenzimidazoles and their zinc salts; and phenol, 2,4-dichloro-.

2. The AICIS calls on the Department of Health (DoH) to add the chemical substances below into the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP):

• Acetylpropionyl and diacetyl: to prohibit its use in products intended to be inhaled;

• Lactic acid isomers: to restrict the concentration and pH of the chemicals in cosmetic products;

• Maleic acid esters (medium to long chain): to prohibit or restrict the concentration of these chemicals in cosmetic products;

• Terpenes and terpenoids, sinpine: to append the following content - 'Note 9: The aspiration hazard classification should only be applied if the kinematic viscosity criteria for aspiration classification in the GHS is met'; and

• Toluenesulfonamides: for the DoH to recommend that the delegate of the Secretary for Poisons Scheduling refine the current entry for "sulfonamides" to better define its widespread use.

3. The AICIS gave no recommendations to six evaluated chemical substances since the identified environment risks of these chemicals are considered to be manageable within existing risk management frameworks, including: bronopol and bronidox; butylated hydroxyanisole and related antioxidants; chlorocresol and chloroxylenol; isomers of octahydro tetramethyl naphthalenyl ethanone (OTNE); lead soaps; and linear alkylbenzene sulfonates.

4. The AICIS also calls on industry to provide relevant information (such as the use and the volume of use) of the following three types of chemicals:

• Chemicals not considered for in depth evaluation – Not commercially active in Australia;

• Chemicals that are unlikely to require further regulation to manage risks to environment; and

• Chemicals that are unlikely to require further regulation to manage risks to human health.