On July 29, 2026, Korea's National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) issued Administrative Notice No. 2026-77, consulting on a revision to the Regulations on Prescribed Quantities of Hazardous Chemicals. The revision proposes setting prescribed quantity thresholds for 38 recently designated hazardous chemicals, establishing low-diffusion prescribed quantities for seven of them, and correcting information on five existing substances. Comments are due by August 19, 2026.
Regulatory Significance of Prescribed Quantities
The prescribed quantity is the quantitative benchmark used in Korea's Chemicals Control Act (CCA) framework to differentiate regulatory tiers. Taking into account both the hazard and the physicochemical properties of a hazardous substance, it compares the "maximum holding quantity" of the substance at an enterprise's premises against the statutory-prescribed quantity to distinguish substances subject to permission from those subject to reporting, and to determine corresponding obligations, such as handling-facility requirements. The regulations are based on Articles 19, 23, 27, and 29 of the Enforcement Rules of the Chemicals Control Act.
Proposed Revisions
The revision mainly covers the following aspects:
- Adding prescribed quantities for 38 hazardous chemicals: Prescribed quantities are set for 38 newly designated hazardous chemicals (Annex 2, Serial Nos. 1559-1598) designated under NICS Notice No. 2026-62 (Notice on the Designation of Human Acute Hazardous Substances, Human Chronic Hazardous Substances, and Ecological Hazardous Substances). For 18 of these, the thresholds are calculated according to the quantity criteria by hazard group (Annex 1), with the minimum prescribed quantity set at 2.5% of the lower prescribed quantity; the remaining 20 are additionally subject to separate rules on small-quantity criteria, physicochemical hazards, or concentration, which strengthen or adjust the thresholds. The newly added substances include phosphoric acid, barium chloride and barium nitrate, 2-butoxyethanol, vanadium pentoxide, and dodecylphenol.
- Setting low-diffusion prescribed quantities for seven substances: For seven of the newly designated substances with low diffusivity (Serial Nos. 1567, 1570, 1580, 1587, 1591, 1595, and 1598), separate low-diffusion prescribed quantities are established; where a substance also belongs to Skin Corrosion Hazard Group 1, its low-diffusion minimum prescribed quantity is strengthened by applying the acute-hazard prescribed quantity value.
- Correcting five existing substances: Five existing hazardous chemicals that already have prescribed quantities are corrected, namely: adding lead sulfate (CAS 7446-14-2) under item 97-1-9; correcting the name of item 97-1-90 (ferricynide salts -> ferricyanide salts); correcting the name of item 97-1-323 (paraquat salts -> paraquat and its salts); revising the prescribed quantity value of item 2021-1-1077 due to a change in its hazard classification code; and supplementing CAS No. 126-06-7 for item 97-1-399 (halogenated hydantoin).
Effective Date and Public Consultation
According to the supplementary provisions of the draft, the regulations are to take effect on the same date as the Notice on the Designation of Human Acute Hazardous Substances, Human Chronic Hazardous Substances, and Ecological Hazardous Substances (August 7, 2026). This is the administrative-notice stage; relevant institutions, organizations, or individuals may submit comments before the consultation deadline through the following channels:
- Email: gnunam@korea.kr
- Tel: 043-830-4342
- Fax: 043-830-4399
- Online submission via the Public Participation in Legislation Center: https://opinion.lawmaking.go.kr/
ChemRadar Insights
Chemical enterprises with business involving Korea should note the following:
- Review the substance list: Against the 38 newly added and 5 corrected hazardous chemicals (available in Annex 2 of the notice), check whether your products, raw materials, or intermediates are involved, and identify the applicable prescribed quantity and the method used to set it.
- Assess the regulatory tier: Based on the maximum holding quantity of each hazardous chemical at your premises and the prescribed quantity thresholds, determine whether the relevant substances will in future fall under higher-tier obligations such as permission, reporting, or handling-facility requirements, and plan a compliance path in advance.
- Track low-diffusion substances: If you handle any of the seven low-diffusion substances for which quantities are set, note their specific prescribed quantity criteria and any possible strengthened rules.
- Seize the feedback window: If you object to a specific prescribed quantity or have supporting data, submit your comments to the NICS before the consultation deadline (contact details above).
