List of chemicals with high hazards for categorisation

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 this 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 removed chemicals that are on our Inventory
• not removed chemicals 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. However, you should also check the chemical name column (Column B) to ensure that your chemical is covered by the Column A entry. The reason for the chemical’s inclusion on the list 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 certain metals.

• 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 any of the specified chemicals shown in the tables in parts 6.3.2. 6.4.2, 6.5.2, 6.6.2, 6.7.2, and 6.25.2 of the Categorisation Guidelines and also replicated in the tables of specified chemicals within the:

• carcinogenicity
• reproductive toxicity
• developmental toxicity
• adverse effects mediated by an endocrine mode of action
• genetic toxicity  

sections in the Human Health Hazard Band C web guidance and the adverse effects mediated by an endocrine mode of action section in the Environment Hazard Band D web guidance. To do this, identify the component chemicals, then search the tables of specified chemicals for the CAS number and chemical name of the component chemicals.

If your chemical:

• is not a salt or ester, or
• is a salt or ester and its component chemicals are not in the tables of specified chemicals

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 or chemical name of a component chemical is in the table of specified chemicals and none of the exceptions listed for the component chemical in the table of specified chemicals apply, 

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 hazard characteristic(s) that your chemical is considered to have will align with the parts of the Categorisation Guidelines that the specified chemicals are listed in. For example an ester containing phenol, 4,4'-(1-methylethylidene)bis- (Bisphenol A) (CAS number 80-05-7) would be considered to have the human health hazard characteristics reproductive toxicity and adverse effects mediated by an endocrine mode of action as well as the environment hazard characteristic adverse effects mediated by an endocrine mode of action unless any exception criteria were met. 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 hazardous. 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 sources and chemicals that have been assessed or evaluated by us. 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
• the evidence has been assessed or evaluated under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 or the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989 

Chemicals removed from the list

In ‘Our response to feedback on proposed changes to AICIS Categorisation Guidelines’ details were provided on the entries that have been removed from the list as a result of the removal of information sources of the list, or due to them not aligning with the hazard characteristics in human health hazard band C. 

In addition we have also removed entries that are unambiguously not industrial chemicals, i.e. those that:

• are not a chemical element
• are not a compound or complex of a chemical element
• are not a UVCB substance
• meet the definition of a radioactive chemical in the Industrial Chemicals (General) Rules 2019.

The entries that have been removed because they are unambiguously not industrial chemicals.