Kashinhou

Kashinhou (化審法), short for 化学物質の審査及び製造等の規制に関する法律 (Kagaku Busshitsu no Shinsa Oyobi Seizoutou no Kisei ni Kansuru Houritsu), ("Law Concerning the Examination and Regulation of Manufacture, etc. of Chemical Substances") (Showa Act No. 117, 昭和48年法律第117号) is the current Chemicals and dangerous substances regulation law in Japan. The more concise abbreviated name is 化学物質審査規制法 (Kagaku Busshitsu Shinsa Kiseihou), or "Chemical Substances Control Law". This law featured the world's first new chemical pre-examination system.

Coverage

This law was established to provide a framework to examine the import, manufacture, and use of industrial chemicals and refractory organic substances for persistence and health consequences, as well as the necessary legal restrictions in order to achieve those aims.

History

The law has its origins in 1968, with an illness related to polychlorinated biphenyls poisoning in the Kanemi Oil Incident. In 1973, this law was established, radically overturning a prevailing attitude that long term contaminants bioaccumulating in humans was not problematic. Refractory organic substances, highly enriched uranium, and substances that possess long term toxicity to humans were classified as Section 1 Chemical Substances. Section 1 items were banned from manufacture or importation.