On 21 May 2026, South Korea's National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) published Notification No. 2026-9, proposing partial amendments to the Hazard Assessment Results of Chemical Substances. Key Revisions 1. Establishment of 79 New Chemical Substance Entries NICS established 79 new chemical substance entries under unique numbers 2026-1 to 2026-79 following the completion of hazard assessments. These substances include: New chemical substances registered between August an

Background Following amendments to the Enforcement Order of the Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA), effective 1 April 2023, employers are required to take measures to minimize workers' exposure to hazardous chemical substances that are subject to risk assessment obligations. To reduce occupational exposure risks, employers must implement control measures in accordance with the hierarchy of controls, prioritizing the following approaches: Substitution of hazardous substan

Background At the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (SC COP-12), held from 28 April to 9 May 2025, Parties adopted amendments to Annex A of the Convention to list three additional persistent organic pollutants (POPs): the pesticide chlorpyrifos and two groups of industrial chemicals, namely long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs) and related substances, and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (

Japan continues to strengthen its chemical management framework under the Chemical Substances Control Act (CSCA), introducing significant new restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in 2026. The latest amendments expand the scope of substances designated as Class I Specified Chemical Substances (Class I SCS)—the most stringent regulatory category under the CSCA—resulting in broad prohibitions on the manufacture, impo