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South Korea: Lead compounds and benzene may be listed as restricted substances, and coatings and these industries will be affected

Time：

2023-07-21

South Korea: Lead compounds and benzene may be listed as restricted substances, and coatings and these industries will be affected

Recently, according to Article 27 of the Chemical Registration and Assessment Act (hereinafter referred to as K-REACH), the Ministry of Environment of South Korea has carried out a detailed survey of the current circulation, hazard assessment and socio-economic analysis of Lead compounds and benzene, and plans to designate Lead compounds and benzene as restricted substances.

In May 2022, the Ministers of Climate, Energy, and Environment of the Group of Seven (G7) issued a joint statement confirming their 'firm commitment to reducing lead in the environment'. In addition, in order to create a safer and healthier living environment, the South Korean Ministry of Environment will not only strengthen restrictions on the specific uses of lead and its compounds; Due to the volatility and carcinogenicity of benzene contained in coatings, some of its uses will also be restricted.

1、 What are restricted substances

According to Article 27 of the K-REACH regulation in South Korea, if a chemical substance is found to have significant use hazards for a specific purpose, its use will be prohibited and the chemical substance will be classified as a restricted substance.

Therefore, in order to gather opinions from the industry (related chemical substance processing enterprises), relevant enterprises will be recruited to participate in the conference discussion, and stakeholders can actively participate in feedback.

2、 Basic substance information of the substance to be designated

The relevant substances and restricted uses are as follows:

Substance

Current regulations

Discussion content of restricted substances

Lead compounds

(CAS: 78-00-2, etc.)

Toxic substances (97-1-9)

- Content baseline: above 0.3%

Content benchmark: above 0.009% (new)

Restricted use: for paints and coatings (new)

Benzene

（CAS:71-43-2)

Toxic substances (97-1-99), accident response substances (# 5)

- Content baseline: above 85%

Content benchmark: above 0.1% (new)

Restricted use: for paints and coatings (new)

The harmful information of Lead compounds and benzene is as follows:

Substance name (CAS number)

Harmful Information (Source: National Academy of Environmental Sciences, South Korea)

Remarks

Lead compounds

Acute oral toxicity: Classification 4 Acute

Inhalation toxicity: classification 4

Reproductive toxicity: classification 1

Target Organ Toxicity - Repeated Exposure: Classification 2

Harmful aquatic environment (acute and chronic): Classification 1

-Some Lead compounds

Carcinogenicity: Classification 1 or 2

Target Organ Toxicity - Repeated Exposure: Classification 1

Benzene

Flammable liquids: Classification 2

Skin corrosiveness/irritation: classification 2

Severe eye injury/irritation: Category 2

Carcinogenicity: Classification 1

Variability: Classification 1

Target Organ Toxicity - Repeated Exposure: Classification 1

Inhalation Harmfulness: Classification 1

Chronic aquatic environmental harmfulness: classification 2

Regarding lead and benzene:

According to research, lead may have serious effects on the nervous system, digestive system, and blood system, especially in children. Lead, as a cumulative poison with high toxicity and multiple exposure pathways, has attracted widespread attention from the international community in recent years, and various countries/regions have also issued relevant restrictions.

In order to enhance the color and performance of coatings, there has always been the use of lead containing pigments in the production of coatings. Some lead compounds have drying and catalytic functions, so paint production often uses these lead compounds. It can be seen that lead chromium pigments are still widely used in paint production, and the replacement work of lead containing coatings also needs to be further promoted.