Chemical Regulatory Updates – Brazil
Brazil is working to adopt a chemicals law which needs to be approved by the National Congress to enter into force. If approved, it will establish a chemicals inventory, prioritise risk assessment and require authorisation for certain chemicals to minimize the adverse impacts on health and the environment arising from their production, importation and use within the national territory.
As part of this aim, Brazil is planning to launch a project in early 2023 which aims to develop a tool to monitor the stocks of hazardous chemicals in the country. In an interview given to Chemical Watch, Andre Cordeiro from ABIQUIM said that their expectations are that this project will serve as a basis for the effective construction of national inventory of chemical substances. The database will list all industrial chemicals used in Brazil at more than one tonne per year.
If implemented, the bill will pose responsibilities on manufacturers, importers and downstream users of chemical substances as such or in mixtures when placing them on the Brazilian market. Foreign manufacturers/formulators will be able to appoint an Only Representative for compliance purposes.
The proposed law would be similar to the Chemicals Management Plan of Canada, a program that selects and prioritizes chemicals on which to focus, mainly for the purpose of risk management