ILMA Compoundings September 2018 - 18

INDUSTRY RUNDOWN

International Insight
Explaining the Korea
Chemical Control Act
By James Eggenschwiler
Alongside K-REACH is a less-discussed body of law that
passed the Korean Legislature at about the same time
that K-REACH was adopted. This law is the Chemical
Control Act (CCA). Its role differs from that of K-REACH
in that it is designed to address the detailed management of chemicals in the Korean marketplace to
prevent chemical accidents and misuse. It has drawn
less attention than K-REACH, because it regulates
use, handling and related disclosures and permitting
(licensing) concerning chemical products and related
substances placed on the Korean market, separate from
the considerations of new or existing chemicals that are
the domain of K-REACH.
NEW LAW, NOT NEW CONCEPT
The predecessor of this law bore a similar name (the
Toxic Chemical Control Act), and was the forerunner of
K-REACH in Korea. The CCA - the new law - was given
a narrower but more in-depth focus: chemical reporting
and chemical accident prevention. Like its predecessor,
it is administered most directly by the Korean Chemical
Manufacturers Association (KCMA), which is a quasigovernmental body that operates as a sub-agency under the
Ministry of Environment. Along with K-REACH, this law
serves as the second prong of the legislature's response to the
chemical disasters that occurred during the time leading up
to adoption of both laws.
The law's lesser profile outside of Korea is largely due to
its singular focus - the behavior of those who handle the
chemicals inside the Korean market. Beginning with the
importer or manufacturer, the law places responsibilities on
each party inside Korea that handles a chemical or chemical
product, including members of the industrial, professional
and consumer product supply chains. The result is a list of
reports and permits that must be accurately maintained by the
supply chain member prior to handling any covered chemical.

SEPTEMBER 2018

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INTENTIONAL NON-UNIFORMITY
One of the complexities of this law involves the latitude
afforded to local jurisdictions for setting the compliance
standards that are to be enforced. For instance, use permits
are issued locally, and items such as permitted uses and
activities (including storage) are evaluated in the context
of the local community. This includes fluctuating considerations such as the concentration of a particular hazard or
chemical identity within that community at any particular
time. This makes monitoring of the local chemical environment more dynamic and responsive, but it hampers
the ability of chemical handlers to absorb volume spikes of
some products - especially those that contain more severely
controlled ingredients.
The impact of this non-uniformity on the upstream
supply chain members makes life tricky from the point of

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ILMA Compoundings September 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings September 2018