Through the issuance of Decree 1630 of 2021, a chapter related to the conditions and requirements for the environmental management of chemical substances for industrial use (SQUI) was added to Decree 1076 of 2015. The above, in order to clearly articulate the particularities of the management and identification of the risks associated with its use and elimination.
The essential innovation introduced by Decree 1630 is limited to the classification and identification of chemical substances under the classes and categories of danger established in the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of the United Nations, as well as the imposition of certain obligations in environmental matters.
What is meant by SQUI?
They are those chemical elements and their compounds in their natural state or as a result of another production process that are used to be transformed, formulated, consumed, stored, preserved, treated, packaged, transferred or mixed.
The people who must be governed by Decree 1630 will be all those who use a SQUI within the framework of their production, import, use, marketing, distribution or transportation activities.
Now, Decree 1630 established a list of substances to which the provisions of said regulation will not be applicable, among which are, for example, substances that have a specific regulation for their use (e.g. hazardous waste), substances of unknown or variable composition, substances that are in customs transit, among others.
What is the National Inventory of Chemical Substances?
One of the mechanisms established by the Decree for the comprehensive management of SQUI is the National Inventory of Chemical Substances, which consists of a database of information that includes chemical substances produced or imported into the national territory. This computer application allows each SQUI to be associated with the quantities manufactured or imported, the identified uses and their degree of danger.
The information provided in the computer application must be updated by the obliged party annually or when any modification is made to the SQUI, such as, for example, when there is a change regarding the GHS classification or the uses identified for it.
How do I know if I am required to inventory my SQUI?
To determine if a user is required to inventory their SQUI, the volumes of substances imported or manufactured during the fiscal years 2021 to 2023 must be evaluated, which must be monoconstituent, multiconstituent, and those incorporated in mixtures, whose volumes exceed 100 kilograms per year. In this sense, if this threshold is exceeded, the manufacturer or importer is obliged to report the information requested in the computer application, under penalty of the user being subject to the sanctions that may apply under Law 1333 of 2009.
*Laura Vietto, associate in the Environment and Natural Resources area at Posse Herrera Ruiz
