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List of chemicals with high hazards for categorisation

Use this list to check if your chemical has hazards in the highest human and environment hazard bands. 

What is the high hazards list and when do I need to use it?

The ‘list of chemicals with high hazards for categorisation’ (the list) is a list:

  • of chemicals that trusted national and international sources consider (see Appendix 8.1 of the Categorisation Guidelines) to be highly hazardous to human health or the environment, with hazard characteristics that are in our highest hazard bands, and
  • for introducers to use as a screening tool when categorising their introductions as exempted, reported or assessed — we’ve put all these chemicals into 1 place to make it easier for you to search.



The list of chemicals with high hazards for categorisation consists of chemicals that are present on the following information sources:

You do not need to use this list if:

  • your introduction is a listed introduction
  • you are applying for a commercial evaluation authorisation
  • your introduction is exempted (section 26 of the General Rules)
  • your introduction is for an end use in research and development and is reported (section 27 of the General Rules)

You do need to use list if:

  • you are working out your introduction’s category — as exempted, reported or assessed and
  • our guidance tells you to search it to demonstrate that your chemical does not have certain hazard characteristics

Note: The list is a compilation of chemicals from each of the trusted sources. We have not amended it, for example, to remove chemicals:

  • that are on our Inventory
  • that would not have an industrial use, or
  • in group entries that are related to use

Also, we have not done our own assessment of all the chemicals on the list.

How to check if your chemical is on the list



To check if your chemical is on the list, open it and follow these steps:

Step 1: Search for your chemical’s Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number (CAS RN or CAS number) using the filter icon in Column A of the ‘Consolidated list’ tab.
If your CAS number:

  • is not in Column A, go to the next step
  • is in Column A, then your chemical is on the list. The reason for its inclusion is explained in the corresponding row in Columns D to M. See below for further information.

Step 2: Search for your chemical name using the filter icon in Column B of the ‘Consolidated list’ tab.

If your chemical name:

  • is not in Column B, go to the next step.
  • is in Column B, then your chemical is on the list. The reason for its inclusion is explained in the corresponding row in Columns D to M. See below for further information.

Step 3: Is your chemical covered by a chemical group entry? There are some group entries on the list, such as compounds of lead, cadmium, mercury, cobalt, nickel, beryllium, arsenic, and of chromium in its +6 oxidation state.

  • If no, go to the next step.
  • If yes, then your chemical is on the list. See below for further information.

Step 4: If your chemical is a salt or an ester, check whether the component chemicals which combine to make your ester or salt are on the list. To do this, identify the component chemicals, then search the list for the CAS number and chemical name of the component chemicals, using Steps 1 and 2.

If your chemical:

  • is not a salt or ester, or
  • is a salt or ester and its component chemicals are not on the list (CAS number not in Column A and chemical name not in Column B),

then your chemical (and the chemical of which it is an ester or salt) is not on the list. See below for further information.

If your chemical is a salt or ester, and:

  • the CAS number of a component chemical is in Column A, or
  • the chemical name of a component chemical is in Column B,

then the chemical of which your chemical is an ester or salt, is on the list, and your chemical is also considered to be highly hazardous. The reason for the inclusion of the component chemical is explained in the corresponding row in Columns D to M. See below for further information.

What happens if your chemical is not on the list?

If your chemical, or the chemical of which it is an ester or salt, is not on the list, it could still be highly hazard. For example, there may be hazard information available for your chemical outside of the sources identified in the list showing that it has a hazard characteristic.

Our categorisation steps will help you work out whether you need any other information (aside from checking the list) to demonstrate the absence of a particular hazard characteristic.

What happens if your chemical is on the list?

If:

  • you are working out whether your introduction is categorised as exempted, reported or assessed and
  • our guidance has instructed you to search the list when working out if your chemical has a particular hazard characteristic, and
  • your chemical, or the chemical of which it is an ester or salt, is on the list, then:

we consider your chemical to have 1 or more of the hazard characteristics in the highest hazard bands. This means hazard band C for human health, or hazard bands D or C for environment.

Depending on your introduction’s circumstances, this may mean that your introduction is categorised as assessed. Our categorisation steps will help you work this out.

If you have additional information that you believe demonstrates that your chemical is not highly hazardous, we can consider this as part of our assessment of your chemical. But, for the purposes of categorisation, your chemical will still be considered to have that hazard characteristic.

Note: Some chemicals on the list are also on our Inventory. If your chemical is on our Inventory, its introduction is a listed introduction as long as you meet the listing terms.

More information about the list and how we'll manage it

Information about the chemicals on the list is from trusted national and international sources (see Appendix 8.1 of the Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines for more details). We plan to update the list annually (or as required) to include new evaluations by the trusted international bodies. We will publish website notices to tell you when we've done this.

Our criteria for inclusion on the list are:

  • evidence of relevant human health and/or environmental hazards is publicly available
  • the evidence has been critically evaluated by reputable international regulatory agencies or a working group of experts
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