Japan - Prohibition of PFOA and/or its Salt and O p-Dicofol
The Japanese Government published a rule in the Official Gazette on April 21, banning o,p'-Dicofol and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or its salt from October 22, 2021. This amendment is based on the decisions at the 9th meeting of the Stockholm Convention in 2019.
The Ministry of Environment (MoE), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) decided to restrict both o,p'-Dicofol and PFOA and its salts as well as certain products containing PFOA by adding the chemicals to the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture as Class I Specified Chemical Substances. Based on the Article 17 and 22 of the Act, chemical substances designated as Class I Specified Chemical Substances would need authorization to manufacture or import.
Furthermore, the following products containing PFOA and its salts are not allowed to be imported into Japan with the same implementation date:
- Water-resistant paper and oil-resistant paper
- Water-repellent textiles and oil-repellent textiles
- Cleaning agents
- Anti-reflection agents used in the manufacture of semiconductors
- Paints and varnish
- Water repellent and oil repellent
- Adhesives and sealing fillers
- Fire-extinguishers, fire-extinguishing agents, and fire-extinguishing foam
- Toners
- Water-resistant clothes and oil-resistant clothes
- Water-repellent floor coverings and oil-repellent floor coverings
- Floor waxes
- Photographic paper
Both o,p'-Dicofol and PFOA are potentially hazardous substances because of their non-biodegradability, high degree of bioaccumulation potential, and chronic toxicity.
Source Link:
Official Gazette