The government, under mounting criticism over its lax response to a massive gas leak, said Tuesday that it is pushing to revise a bill to reinforce chemical substances management.
The Environment Ministry submitted a revision to the Act concerning Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances for parliamentary approval on Sept. 28, one day after the hydrofluoric acid leak from a chemical maker in the southeastern city of Gumi killed five workers and injured 18 others.
The revision stipulates that when producing or importing over one ton of chemical materials, producers mandatorily report to authorities about the use and the amount of substances every two years, the ministry said.
The authorities then determine the toxicity of the substances after an examination, the ministry said, adding that it can ban the materials if deemed necessary.
Currently, chemical substances are monitored in line with the Korea Toxic Chemicals Control Act. However, some 37,000 types of chemical materials, or 86 percent of around 43,000, are widely used with little information available as to their toxicity.
Under the revision, those who circulate chemical compounds without proper registration will face up to five years in prison or a fine of under 100 million won (US$90,057), the ministry said.
The revision is expected to get a full parliamentary approval sometime early next year and take effect in 2015 after a two-year grace period, it added. (Yonhap)