The Government introduced an amendment to the Schedules 1 and 2 under the Hazardous Chemicals Control Ordinance (Cap. 595) (the Ordinance) into the Legislative Council on June 4 2014 to include five newly-listed hazardous chemicals starting from 2015 in order to strengthen protection of the general public and the environment against the potential health or pollution problems due to exposure to such chemicals. Inclusion of the five newly-listed hazardous chemicals will bring Hong Kong in line with the latest revisions to the lists of persistent organic pollutants in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
The five types of hazardous chemicals to be put on the Schedules will include
( i ) hexabromobiphenyl,
( ii ) hexabromodiphenyl ether and heptabromodiphenyl ether (commercial octabromodiphenyl ether)
( iii ) pentachlorobenzene,
( iv ) tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether (commercial pentabromodiphenyl ether) and
( v ) perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF).
Under the Ordinance, the manufacture, export, import and use of the listed hazardous chemicals are subject to permit controls. The control of the newly-listed hazardous chemicals under the Ordinance will take effect from January 1, 2015. Any person found guilty of manufacturing, exporting, importing or using any newly-listed hazardous chemicals without a permit is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for one year.