The Hong Kong government has no concrete plans to adopt the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals but has taken steps to control the identification and transport of hazardous substances with new legislation, a spokesman for the special administrative region's Environmental Protection Department (EPD) told BNA. On April 1, a new Hazardous Chemicals Control Ordinance went into effect that aims to control through a permit system the manufacture, trade, and use of chemicals that pose a threat to human health or the environment, including those regulated by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides. Companies seeking to import or use substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls, asbestos, and tetramethyl lead will have to seek the permission of the director of environmental protection, who can withhold or revoke permits from firms suspected of improper chemical use, storage, or disposal. Firms that manufacture or trade in controlled chemicals without the proper paperwork may face fines of up to HK$50,000 ($6,420) and one year in prison.
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