Chemical Industry Calls for Global Data Sharing on Chemicals to Improve Chemical Safety Worldwide
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY (April 2, 2019) – The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), the voice of the global chemical industry, is calling for the creation of an “international navigator” – a global repository of publicly available information on chemicals. This proposal is one of a series of recommendations issued by ICCA on the sound management of chemicals and waste beyond 2020 ahead of the third Open Ended Working Group (OEWG-3) meeting to discuss the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) post-2020.
“ICCA believes that beyond 2020, the SAICM framework should maintain its voluntary, multi-stakeholder, multi-sectorial nature, and continue to focus on its core work: building basic chemicals management capacity in countries that need it most,” said Cal Dooley, ICCA Council Secretary and President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC). “We consider data sharing on chemicals as well the implementation of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) key elements needed to improve chemicals management practices at the global level and are a central part of the SAICM process beyond 2020.”
Such a navigator could be based on the publicly available information in existing databases such as the EU IUCLID and EUCLEF (the EU Chemicals Legislation Finder), the databases from the US, Canada, and Japan, or the OECD eChemPortal. Creating a global data repository will significantly contribute to the capacity building efforts in those countries which have just started developing legislation on chemical safety and have limited knowledge on chemicals and their effects. National bodies and institutions in the countries with the most advanced chemicals legislation could take the lead in developing this global database; however support from a range of relevant SAICM stakeholders is critical to ensure broad consensus and implementation.