Australia proposes to add four chemicals to Schedule 7 of IChEMS

On July 21, 2023, the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water began a call for comments on a draft decision to add three types of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) to Schedule 7 of the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS). The deadline for submission of comments is September 1, 2023.

The above substances are regulated by the Stockholm Convention as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The substances in Schedule 7 of IChEMS are generally prohibited from being imported, exported, manufactured, or used as substances that are likely to cause serious or irreversible damage to the environment.