Australia - Proposes to Prohibit SCCP in Substance, Mixtures or Articles

​The Minister for the Environment of Australia is seeking public comment on the scheduling of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) under the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS).

SCCPs are a group of chlorinated paraffin (straight chain alkane) chemicals. SCCPs were never manufactured in Australia but were used for various purposes in industry, including as a combined flame retardant and plasticizer in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) items, as lubricants for metalworking, and in treating leather.

These chemicals are proposed for listing in Schedule 7 of the IChEMS Register as they are likely to cause serious or irreversible harm to the environment. Schedule 7 chemicals cannot be imported, exported, manufactured, or used within Australia except:
- in substance or in mixtures: ≤ 10000 ppm
- in articles: ≤ 1500 ppm

There are also requirements for waste containing SCCPs as well as the disposal of the chemicals.

Proposed effective date: July 1, 2024.