Ukraine Announces New Chemical Safety Law

By Aleksandr Kuźmicz, regulatory specialist, Supply Chain team, UL Solutions 

In December 2022, the draft law on “Chemical Safety and Management of Chemical Products” was adopted by the Ukrainian legislature. 

This law outlines the legal, organizational and economic requirements to ensure chemical safety, and is aimed at preventing the negative impact of chemical products on the environment and public health. It establishes requirements for the activities of economic entities in the chemical industry as well as regulates relations arising in the field of chemical management security taking into account Ukraine's international obligations.  

This extensive law is modeled after the European Union CLP (Classification, Labeling and Packaging) and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction) regulations and identifies requirements for registration, permits, chemical safety assessments as well as labeling requirements. 

Articles 26, 37, 38 and 50 of the law specifically mention implementation of the Globally Harmonized System of Hazard Classification and Labeling of Chemical Products (GHS) into national legislation. 

According to the new law, the label on the container for any chemical products which are considered hazardous under the criteria shall include the following elements:

1. Name, address and telephone number of the supplier;
2. Nominal amount of chemical products in the package;
3. Product identifier;
4. Hazard symbols;
5. Signal word;
6. Hazard statements;
7. Precautionary statements;
8. Additional information.

Article 40 of the law states that “a chemical substance that is produced, imported or put into circulation is subject to mandatory state registration.” State registration of chemical substances is carried out by the central executive body. The basis for state registration of a chemical substance is 1 ton per year or more of the annual total mass quantity of its circulation (on its own or in an article) by a separate economic entity. Business entities that are the next in the supply chain of a chemical substance on its own or in an article, should not undergo the procedure of state registration, provided that this procedure for such a chemical substance is successfully performed by the previous participant of the supply chain. In order to initiate the procedure for State Registration, an application with relevant documentation must be submitted to the central executive body.

The law is projected to enter into force on June 26, 2024. 

Implementation of this law brings Ukraine one step closer in its efforts to join the European Union.

References

Text of the Law (in Ukrainian): Про забезпечення хімічної безпеки та управління хімічною продукцією

Ukrainian Ministry of Environment article (in Ukrainian): Президент підписав євроінтеграційний закон про посилення хімічної безпеки в Україні