Do I have to respond to the statistical surveys on chemical substances?

Importers who have filed the Detailed Statement of Verification of Chemicals, if you don’t know what it is, please visit my post at https://koreacertifiedcustomsattorneysj.blogspot.com/2022/04/detailed-statement-of-verification-on.html, receive a notice from a regional environmental office with jurisdiction over the place of business every two years regarding the statistical surveys on chemical substances, which is required under Article 10 of the CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT (화학물질관리법).

CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT Article 10 (Statistical Surveys on chemical substances and Establishment and Operation of Information System) (1) The Minister of Environment shall conduct statistical surveys on the current status of handling related to the handling of chemical substances, handling facilities, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "statistical surveys on chemical substances") every two years. In such cases, the relevant provisions of Statistics Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to collecting and preparing statistics. (2) The Minister of Environment shall conduct offsite or onsite surveys, or establish and operate an information system for the efficient establishment and implementation of statistical surveys on chemical substances. (3) Where necessary for statistical surveys on chemical substances and the establishment and operation of an information system under paragraph (2), the Minister of Environment may request the heads of relevant central administrative agencies, local government, public institutions (referring to public institutions under Article 4 of the Act on the Management of Public Institutions), relevant institutions, organizations, etc. to provide necessary data and information. In such cases, any person requested to provide data and information shall comply with the request unless there is a compelling reason not to do so. (4) The Minister of Environment may require persons who handle chemical substances to submit data necessary for statistical surveys on chemical substances, or require relevant public officials to have access to the relevant place of business, etc. and inspect the current status related to chemical substances. In such cases, any public official who has access to the place of business, etc. and conducts inspection on the current status shall carry a certification indicating his/her authority and show it to interested persons. (5) Matters necessary for chemical substances subject to, details, methods of, and procedures for statistical surveys of chemical substances shall be prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Environment.

 

According to Article 64 of the same Act, a person who fails to comply with an order to submit data necessary for statistical surveys of chemical substances or submit false data may be subject to an administrative fine not exceeding 10 million won. Therefore, once you receive the notice, you must respond.

 

Statistical surveys require a lot of information. However, if you have imported only a small amount of chemicals, you may submit the much simpler Declaration of Entity Not Subject to Statistical Surveys on Chemical Substances instead of the Chemical Substance Statistical Survey Table.

 

Details about the surveys are prescribed in the Ministry of Environment Notification, REGULATION ON STATISTICAL SURVEYS ON CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES (화학물질 통계조사에 관한 규정). According to Article 5 (2) of the Regulation, the following chemical substances are not subject to the statistical surveys.

-        Chemical substances used only by investigators and/or researchers in restricted places for testing, research, or inspection.

-        Chemical substances built into machines and devices purchased and used, such as accumulators.

-        Chemical substances that are part of the business facility themselves, such as paint for painting the facility and construction materials.

-        Chemical substances used in the operation and maintenance of machinery and equipment operated or run in the place of business. However, chemical substances that have separate preservation and storage facility are subject to the statistical surveys.

-        Chemical substances used by employees for personal use, such as office equipment, medicines, cosmetics, etc.

-        Chemical substances handled annually by each place of business meeting the criteria specified in the annexed Table just as determined based on the classification of industries by major category in the Korean Standard Industrial Classification notified by the Commissioner of the Statistics Korea under Article 22 of the 「Statistics Act」.

-        Chemical substances used as fuel (for heating) at the place of business (however, those used as fuel in handling processes such as product manufacturing, etc. are subject to reporting).

-        Chemical substances contained in a product that performs a certain function in a solid state are not released during use of the product.

-        Chemical substances used to maintain landscaping facilities, etc. at the place of business, such as pesticides, fertilizers, etc.

-        Consumer chemical products that are no longer distributed because they are displayed, stored, or preserved for the purpose of sale or gift to consumers prescribed in Article2, subparagraph 1 of the 「Framework Act on Consumers」, or are used for the purposes other than raw materials (including intermediate goods) or capital goods at the place of business.

 

Importers of laboratory reagents should take care in interpreting the “Chemical substances used only by investigators and/or researchers in restricted places for testing, research, or inspection”. Unlike the “A chemical substance for scientific experiments, analysis or research, such as reagents” to which the exemption from registration or reporting may apply under the ACT ON REGISTRATION AND EVALUATION OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES (화학물질의 등록 및 평가 등에 관한 법률), the provision applies only when the importers import the reagents and actually use them in their lab. If importers import and sell laboratory reagents, they are not free from the statistical surveys.

 

If the annual import volume of chemicals doesn’t exceed the threshold stipulated in the annexed Table for each business category which can be confirmed in the business registration certificate, the importers of chemicals can just submit Declaration of Entity Not Subject to Statistical Surveys on Chemical Substances.

Business Type	General Chemical Substances (kg)	Hazardous Chemical Substances (kg)
A. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing	1,000	100
B. Mining and quarrying	1,000	100
C. Manufacturing	-	-
D. Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply	-	-
E. Water supply, sewage and waste management, materials recovery	-	-
F. Construction	1,000	100
G. Wholesale and retail trade	1,000	100
H. Transportation and storage	1,000	100
I. Accommodation and food service activities	1,000	100
J. Information and communication	1,000	100
K. Financial and insurance activities	1,000	100
L. Real estate activities	1,000	100
M. Professional, scientific, and technical activities	1,000	100
N. Business facilities management, business support activities, and rental and leasing activities	1,000	100
O. Public administration and defense, compulsory social security	1,000	100
P. Education	1,000	100
Q. Human health and social work activities	1,000	100
R. Arts, sports, and recreation related services	1,000	100
S. Membership organizations, repair, and other personal services	1,000	100

 

Most importers belong to the “Wholesale and retail trade” category. So, the threshold is 100kg for hazardous chemical substances and 1,000kg for other chemical substances.

It should be noted that the weight means the weight of products containing the relevant chemical substance, not the weight of a specific chemical substance.

Here are some examples.

Product	Annual Import Weight (kg)	Composition of Product			Threshold Determining Hazardous Chemical Substance (Same or more)	Subject to Statistical Surveys?
		Chemical Name	CAS No.	Content (%)
A	1,500	Sodium acetate	127-09-3	20	Not applicable	Yes (General chemical substance exceeding 1,000kg)
		Water	7732-18-5	80	Not applicable
B	1,000	Ethanol	64-17-5	30	Not applicable	No (General chemical substance not exceeding 1,000kg)
		Water	7732-18-5	70	Not applicable
C	500	Sulfuric acid	7664-93-9	5	10	No (General chemical substance not exceeding 1,000kg)
		Water	7732-18-5	95	Not applicable
D	50	Sulfuric acid	7664-93-9	20	10	No (Hazardous chemical substance not exceeding 100kg)
		Water	7732-18-5	80	Not applicable
E	800	Nitric acid	7697-37-2	8	10	Yes (General chemical substance exceeding 1,000kg)
		Water	7732-18-5	92	Not applicable
F	400	Nitric acid	7697-37-2	5	10
		Water	7732-18-5	95	Not applicable
G	50	Formalin	50-00-0	10	0.1	Yes (Hazardous chemical substance exceeding 100kg)
		Water	7732-18-5	90	Not applicable
H	80	Formalin	50-00-0	5	0.1
		Water	7732-18-5	95	Not applicable

 

-        Sodium acetate and water contained in Product A are general chemical substances. As the annual import weight of Product A exceeds 1,000kg, Product A is subject to statistical surveys.

-        Ethanol and water contained in Product B are general chemical substances. As the annual import weight of Product B doesn’t exceed 1,000kg, Product B is not subject to statistical surveys.

-        Since the content of sulfuric acid contained in Product C is less than the threshold, sulfuric acid is a general chemical substance. As the annual import weight of Product C doesn’t exceed 1,000kg, Product C is not subject to statistical surveys.

-        Since the content of sulfuric acid contained in Product D is more than the threshold, sulfuric acid is a hazardous chemical substance. As the annual import weight of Product D doesn’t exceed 100kg, Product D is not subject to statistical surveys.

-        Since the content of nitric acid contained in Product E and F is less than the threshold, nitric acid is a general chemical substance. The annual import weight of products containing nitric acid exceeds 1,000kg (800kg + 400kg) so both Product E and F are subject to statistical surveys.

-        Since the content of formalin contained in Product G and H is more than the threshold, formalin is a hazardous chemical substance. The annual import weight of products containing formalin exceeds 100kg (50kg + 80kg) so both Product G and H are subject to statistical surveys.

 

Both the Chemical Substance Statistical Survey Table and the Declaration of Entity Not Subject to Statistical Surveys on Chemical Substances can be submitted through the portal website for civil petitions under the CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT: https://icis.me.go.kr/cdms/main/viewMain.do.

 

The system doesn’t require to attach documentary evidence proving the import volume to the Declaration of Entity Not Subject to Statistical Surveys on Chemical Substances. However, evidence shall be kept to prove that it was not the submission of false data, which is subject to an administrative fine.