Registration and Risk Assessment under Korea REACh (K-REACH)

1.) Public announcements to watch for after the registration under Korea REACH
- A registered chemical’s name and CAS No. is publicly announced; however, only the generic name is announced for chemicals protected as confidential during the term of its protection.
- If a registered chemical is hazardous, such chemical is designated as a toxic chemical.
- Following chemicals and chemicals that are considered risky as a result of the hazard examination and risk assessment are publicly announced as authorization substance and are required to be authorized by the Ministry of Environment before the manufacture or importation. (The public announcement of authorization substance contains information such as chemical name, the use that needs to the authorized prior to the manufacture/importation, and authorization grace period)
① chemical that causes or is concerned to cause cancer, mutation, adverse fertility, or disruption in endocrine system;
② chemical that highly accumulates in human body, animal and in plant and that remains for a long period of time in the environment;
③ chemical that may cause significant risk equal to or greater than that of chemicals that fall under the preceding categories.
- Following chemicals are publicly announced as restricted or prohibited substance
① chemical that is considered to be hazardous as a result of hazard examination and risk assessment;
② chemical recognized as risky by an international organization; 
③ chemical that is prohibited or is restricted from use by the international treaty; and
④ chemical that is revoked from the designation of authorization substance

2.) Risk Assessment
- Ministry of Environment decides whether to conduct risk assessment of a chemical that falls under one of the categories below based on the result of the hazard examination. MoE can also order the registrant of the chemical to submit needed information for risk assessment.
① chemical manufactured or imported in quantity equal to or more than 10 ton per year; 
② chemical deemed necessary for Risk Assessment as a result of the hazard examination.
- Implementation date for risk assessment based on the tonnage band
① January 01 2015 - A chemical manufactured or imported in quantity equal to or more than 100 ton per year
② January 01 2017 - A chemical manufactured or imported in quantity equal to or more than 70 ton per year
③ January 01 2018 - A chemical manufactured or imported in quantity equal to or more than 50 ton per year
④ January 01 2019 - A chemical manufactured or imported in quantity equal to or more than 20 ton per year
⑤ January 01 2020 - A chemical manufactured or imported in quantity equal to or more than 10 ton per year