Chemicals and Product Safety
The Nippon Soda Group takes into consideration the potential environmental, safety and health impacts related to the hazards and toxicity of chemical substances and products, complying with laws and ordinances and international standards, while also complying with ordinances based on social demands, so as to earn the trust of customers and society and in turn ensure sustainable business activities.
- Compliance with domestic laws and regulations, international standards, and treaties, etc., giving due consideration to the environmental, safety and health impacts related to the hazards and toxicity of chemical substances and products.
- Compliance with social restrictions that are not covered by law to maintain and ensure trust from customers and the general public.
- Specific measures to ensure the safety management of chemical substances, including activities and periodic educational programs regarding chemical and product safety.
Safety of Chemicals
Strengthening Management of Chemical Substances Using a Chemical Substance Control System
We are strengthening our management of chemical substances through the introduction of a chemical substance management system which we use to create SDSs1 and Yellow Cards. We prepare and revise SDSs and Yellow Cards to comply with revisions to laws in Japan and overseas. We are also shifting to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals for SDSs and product labels for Europe, the United States, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Turkey, and other countries/regions as well as Japan. In FY 2022, to transfer Japanese SDSs to the revised Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) version, we improved our chemical substance management system and held briefings for all relevant worksites. Wecompleted the transfer of Japanese SDSs to the revised JIS version by the grace period limit of May 24, 2022.
- 1 SDS (Safety Data Sheet) documents describing information on chemical substances, product names, suppliers, hazards, precautionary safety measures, emergency response, etc.
Regular training programs on chemical substance control
We provide employees who handle chemical substances with education on how to comply with Japanese and overseas laws and regulations regarding the management of chemicals.
Product Safety
Actions to comply with laws and regulations
Nippon Soda takes actions to comply with domestic and overseas laws and regulations (including the EU REACH regulations2) and conducts audits of poisonous and deleterious substances at its sales offices.
- 2 REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals): European chemicals regulations. European regulations state that businesses that manufacture or import one ton or more of products per year are required to register the substances they handle and submit safety test data, and that substances for which data is not submitted (registered) cannot be sold.
Communication of safety information on chemicals
The Nippon Soda Group participates in GPS/JIPS3 activities. We have prepared safety summary reports on four substances, including caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, which have been registered on the Japan Chemical Industry Association’s BIG Dr chemical substance risk assessment support site.
-
3 GPS (Global Product Strategy): A voluntary industry initiative based on risk assessment and risk management with a global product strategy as the basic concept, taking into account the supply chain
JIPS (Japan Initiative of Product Stewardship): Japan’s version of the ICCA’s4 Product Stewardship (PS) - 4 ICCA (International Council of Chemical Associations)
（Achievement levels ◎：≥ 90% ○：80-90% △：60-80% ×： ≤ 60%）
| Compliance with chemical-related laws and ordinances: Target: Zero violations | Achievement level ×：Two violations at Nippon Soda (Head office: Violation of Chemical Substances Control Law [deviated from Official Gazette naming requirements]; Violation of Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices [mislabeling of dosage and administration]) |
|---|
With a target of compliance with chemical-related laws and ordinances (zero violations), we will reinforce the management of chemical substances through new chemical substance management systems, make domestic and overseas SDS/product label revisions, and reinforce examination and management of products containing chemical substances. We will continue to provide regular training programs on chemical substance control, such as training for new/transferred employees and explanatory sessions on revisions of laws and ordinances, as well as explanatory sessions on revisions to relevant laws and ordinances of foreign countries.
Consideration in Animal Experiments
The Odawara Research Center has formulated its own regulations for animal experimentation and other relevant standards based on the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, the Ministry of the Environment’s Standards Relating to the Care and Keeping and Reducing Pain of Laboratory Animals, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ The Basic Policy on Animal Experimentation Performed at Research Institutions, and the Science Council of Japan’s Guidelines for Proper Conduct of Animal Experiments. These activities are validated by an external organization (the Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center5) and the facility was certified in June 2018 as a facility that conducts animal experiments in a proper manner (certification was renewed in June 2021).
- 5 The Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center (JAPIC) has taken on certified businesses from the Japan Health Sciences Foundation, which was disbanded in March 2021.
