On February 6, 2024, the Ministry of Environment of South Korea issued Order No. 20232, which includes revisions to certain parts of the K-REACH regulations.The notification threshold for the production/import volume of new substances has been increased from 0.1 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year.

The Catalogue officially came into effect on January 1, 2025.

On December 25, 2024, the National People's Congress released the Draft of the "Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals" (hereinafter referred to as Draft) for public comment. This draft is more concise than the earlier version (hereinafter referred to as the Public Consultation Version). To help companies better understand the differences and similarities between the two versions, we have made a comprehensive analysis of the similarities and differences between this Draft and the Public Consultation Version

On December 25, 2024, the Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Technology Center released the "Frequently Asked Questions Series IX on Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances," focusing on addressing questions related to the registration of polymers. CIRS Group provides some examples and suggestions for distinguishing cases involving the exclusion of cationic polymers and degradable or unstable polymers.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) plans to expand its Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) by adding six substances from January 6, 2025, taking the total to 248. Octamethyltrisiloxane is among the new additions.

The Global Chemical Inventory Search (GCIS) developed by CIRS Group supports users in searching the latest updates to global chemical inventories by entering a CAS number or substance name in Chinese or English. It also provides obligation analysis for global chemical compliance. CIRS continuously monitors changes to global chemical inventories and regularly updates ChemRadar, to try and help users understand more about the compliance obligations of their substances.

Based on proposals from the European Union, the Netherlands, and the United States, the GHS Expert Group Committee plans to clarify the classification standards for germ cell mutagenicity category 1B and consider expanding the scope of mutagenicity classification within the GHS.

Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has drafted new risk management policies for Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE). EPA plans to eradicate all TCE uses within a year, including its production and processing in most commercial and all consumer products, to safeguard potential TCE-exposed individuals. Concurrently, a ten-year phased PCE elimination in the dry cleaning industry is planned to minimize risks for workers or frequent visitors of such facilities.

On December 25, 2024, the National People's Congress of China began seeking public opinions online for seven draft laws, including the "Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals." Comments are welcomed before January 23, 2025.

The European Commission revised the Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, or toxic to Reproduction (CMR) substances list within REACH's Annex XVII , introducing three key changes.