Q. What is Transfer?
Every hazardous substance imported or manufactured in New Zealand for the first time requires an approval from the Environmental Risk Management Authority. Those hazardous substances that were already in use in New Zealand prior to the introduction of HSNO on 2 July 2001 needed to be transferred to the HSNO regime before 1 July 2006.
All substances that are in lawful use remain "legal" due to the transitional provisions in the Act. The controls on them remain unchanged even though the legislation under which they were originally approved has been repealed. Work ERMA are currently undertaking will transfer these substances from the transitional provisions of HSNO to the main part of the Act before the transitional period expires.
Q. What has been transferred?
As at 1 July 2006 transfer was completed. The following groups of substances were transferred:
- Explosives
- Dangerous Goods
- Scheduled Toxic Substances (STS)
- Pesticides
- Timber Preservatives and Antisapstains
- Antifouling Paints
- Vertebrate Toxic Agents (VTAs)
- Fumigants
- Veterinary Medicines
- Notified Toxic Substance (NOTS)
Q. What is a Notified Toxic Substance or NOTS?
A notified toxic substance (NOTS) is a substance that was notified under section 32 of the Toxic Substances Act 1979. Up until 2 July 2001, people who manufactured, imported or packed toxic substances were required to 'notify' the Ministry of Health by providing basic information about these substances. This information included the trade name of the product and the product's chemical composition. ERMA New Zealand has been processing these notifications since July 1998.
When the notification process was closed off on 2 July 2001, ERMA New Zealand had around 218,000 notified products recorded on the NOTS database. All of the NOTS have now been transferred, most under a new group standard approval, however single components and highly hazardous NOTS were transferred individually.
What is a notified toxic substance (NOTS)?
A notified toxic substance (NOTS) is a substance that was notified under section 32 of the Toxic Substances Act 1979. Until 2 July 2001, people who manufactured, imported or packed toxic substances were required to 'notify' the Ministry of Health by providing basic information about these substances, including the trade name and composition of the product.
When the notification process was closed off on 2 July 2001, There were around 218,000 notified products recorded on the NOTS database. On 1 July 2006, these substances were transferred to the HSNO regime.
Most notified toxic substances were transferred to HSNO by way of group standards. A Group Standard represents a new HSNO approval pathway, by which a large number of substances, including NOTS, that have similar properties or characteristics can be given HSNO approval.