On May 26, 2025, the National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) of South Korea issued Notice No. 2025-8, amending the Hazard Assessment Results of Chemical Substances (originally announced as Notice No. 2025-5 on February 18, 2025) under the Chemical Substances Registration and Evaluation Act (K-REACH) and its enforcement rules. The amendments take effect immediately upon publication.
The revision includes several updates related to the hazard assessments of both new and existing chemical substances. The specific updates are as follows:
Updates on New Chemical Substances
- Revisions were made to specific entries in Annex 1 (New Chemical Substances), including substances 2016-284, 2019-360, 2019-672, 2020-171, and 2021-160. The updates include the precise chemical names and the official publication of their unique identifiers, determinations of their toxicity, and detailed hazard classification and labeling information.
Updates on Existing Chemical Substances
- Hazard Level Revisions: Adjustments were made to the hazard levels of substances 2023-378, 2023-382, 2023-435, and 2024-457 listed in Annex 2 (Existing Chemical Substances).
- Addition of New Entries: Following existing entry 2024-554, 29 new entries from 2025-555 to 2025-583 were added. For these new substances, the announcement detailed their unique identifiers, toxic status, unique toxic substance identifiers (if applicable), classification and labeling, physicochemical properties, human health hazards, and environmental hazard assessment data.
Publication of Toxic Substance Identifiers
- This announcement also officially published the unique identifiers for 20 toxic substances, including 2023-403, 2024-443, and 2024-445.
This revision reflects NICS's ongoing efforts to dynamically update and refine the management of chemical substance risk assessments. The updated hazard assessment results provide a legal basis for the safe production by chemical companies, safe use by downstream users, compliant disposal of waste, and precise enforcement by regulatory authorities, significantly enhancing the overall chemical safety management level in South Korea. Relevant industry enterprises must immediately check the new regulations concerning their substances to ensure that production, transportation, usage, and labeling fully comply with the updated requirements.
Further Information
