The Hazardous Substance Act B.E.2535 (1992) classifies hazardous substances into 4 types (see details in “Classification hazardous substance and its related requirement”) The names of hazardous substances, types of hazardous substances, responsible agencies and conditions of control are publicized in the annexed table of the Notification of Ministry of Industry : List of hazardous substances.
The current List is the Notification of Ministry of Industry: List of Hazardous Substances B.E.2538 (1995) which has 7 amendments.
The hazardous substance list was divided into List “Gor” (ก.) and List “Khor” (ข.).
- The List Gor (ก.) was designated as the list of chemical names or chemical groups with the same functional group or mechanism of actions. Types of hazardous substances, CAS No., responsible agencies and conditions of control are also designated.
- The List Khor (ข.) was designated as the list of product groups or purpose of use. Types of hazardous substances , CAS No., responsible agencies and conditions of control are also designated.
The primary steps to check whether any chemical or any product is hazardous substance under the responsibility of Thai FDA, are listed as followed:
- Checking whether the product’s active ingredients match to any of chemicals listed in “list Gor” and its use corresponds to the conditions specified in “List Gor”.
- Checking whether the product’s active ingredients are a substance in any of chemical groups listed in “list Gor” and its use corresponds to the respective condition specified in “List Gor”.
- Checking whether the use of product or product claims match to any of those in “List Khor”.
Chemicals or products that fall in any mentioned conditions are classified as hazardous substances used in household or public health under the responsibility of Thai FDA. Consequently, compliance to the specified criteria and procedures for each type of hazardous substances is required.
Any product that falls into type 1 hazardous substance must be notified the authority of the product information. If any product falls into type 2 or type 3 hazardous substances, it must be registered and manufacturing, import, export, or possession for professional use must be notified (for type 2 hazardous substances) or must be licensed (for type 3 hazardous substances).
The List of Hazardous Substances was first published on February 17, B.E. 2538 (1995). It has been amended several times throughout the years with the notification of adding and/or removing substances from the existing list. As additional changes are being made to the existing list, the Thailand Ministry of Industry has decided to combine all the changes and create a consolidated list of hazardous substances. By doing so, it hopes to avoid confusion from having to refer to numerous amendments.
On September 27, 2013, the Thailand Ministry of Industry published the consolidated list through the Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances B.E. 2556 (2013) in Government Gazette Volume 130, Special 125 D. Therein, the published list of hazardous substances repeals all of the amendments as follows:
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances B.E. 2538 (1995) dated 17 February, B.E. 2538
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 2) B.E. 2543 (2000) dated 20 March, B.E. 2543
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 3) B.E. 2543 (2000) dated 26 May, B.E. 2543
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 4) B.E. 2544 (2001) dated 31 October, B.E. 2544
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 5) B.E. 2546 (2003) dated 10 April, B.E. 2546
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 3) B.E. 2548 (2005) dated 21 November, B.E. 2548
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 4) B.E. 2549 (2006) dated 26 January, B.E. 2549
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 5) B.E. 2549 (2006) dated 27 March, B.E. 2549
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 6) B.E. 2552 (2009) dated 3 February, B.E. 2552
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 7) B.E. 2553 (2010) dated 7 September, B.E. 2553
- Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances (No. 8) B.E. 2555 (2012) dated 2 October, B.E. 2555
This consolidated list provides chemical names in both Thai and English, and groups them in accordance to the responsible agencies, i.e. the Department of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries, Department of Livestock Development, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Industrial Works and Department of Energy Business.
Further details about the Notification of the Ministry of Industry Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances can be obtained through the listed websites.
References
List of Hazardous Substances B.E. 2556
http://www2.diw.go.th/Haz_o/hazard/lawsnew/9.pdf
Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535
http://www.diw.go.th/diw_web/html/versionthai/laws/act2.asp
Other Ministerial Regulations under the Hazardous Substances Act
http://www.diw.go.th/hawk/content.php?mode=laws&tabid=3
© 08 January 2014, Weisin Chai, www.chemadavisor.com