December 19, 2002
The Environmental Risk Management Authority is currently consulting on HSNO controls for anti-foulant paints and is calling for submissions.
Anti-foulant paints are widely used in the boat building industry and on structures built in water. Anti-foulants contain biocides used to kill off algae. They are used on the hulls of boats to inhibit the growth of marine organisms and to reduce build up and drag.
But they also contain inorganic substances, organometallic and organic chemical compounds. There are a multitude of ingredients that may be harmful to people or the environment, including for example zinc oxide, cuprous oxide and diuron.
Under the Hazardous Substance and New Organisms Act (HSNO), ERMA New Zealand is required to check each substance for potential hazards, including toxicity to humans or ecosystems, flammability and corrosiveness. Depending on the degree of hazard, controls are triggered to manage each risk.
ERMA New Zealand is currently running the Transfer Project which imvovles transferring substances from old regimes to the HSNO Act. Before the HSNO Act came into effect, anti-foulants were covered by the Pesticides Act. While this allowed for brand products to be listed and assessed, the old regime focused mostly on the primary hazardous properties of the product. It triggers a set of controls covering the whole life cycle of the product from import or manufacture, through to packaging, labeling, use, storage, transport and disposal.
ERMA New Zealand is calling for comments on the controls for anti-foulant paints. A consultation document is available on request or at www.ermanz.govt. Submissions are due by 28 February 2003. It must be noted that this is not an opportunity to have anti-foulants reassessed, it is an opportunity to make comments on the controls in the consultation documents.
Once ERMA has finalised the controls, the substances used in anti-foulant paints will be registered under the HSNO Act and everyone using them will have to follow the new rules.
The final controls are due to come into effect on 1 July 2003.
Anti-foulant paints are only one category in a wide range of substances currently being reviewed by ERMA. The Authority is also working on thousands of other substances that will be transferred into the new law next year, including explosives, pesticides, fumigants and veterbrate pest controls.
You may submit your comments by:
Email addressed to: Transfer@ermanz.govt.nz
or
Mail addressed to:
Andrea Eng
Manager (Transfer of Substances)
ERMA New Zealand
P O Box 131
Wellington
Media Contact:
Uma Cannon, Public Awareness Advisor
Phone 04 918 4865