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Decision tool – Work out if your introduction is medium to high risk to the environment

This decision tool is related to step 5.1 of the process to categorise your chemical introduction.

Optional: If you’d like to save or print your completed decision tool for your own records, click on ‘Chemical identity’ before Question 1 and enter your chemical’s name or CAS number. Note that a copy of a completed decision tool is not sufficient to meet your record-keeping obligations. To save as a PDF, select the print option in your browser and choose ‘Save as PDF’ or ‘Microsoft Print to PDF’. For Safari users, click 'File' and 'Export to PDF'.

Who should use this?

This decision tool will help you determine your introduction category. There are 1‐5 questions depending on your circumstances. This tool refers to the Industrial Chemicals Categorisation Guidelines and Industrial Chemicals General Rules. You can find these on this page:

See the full list of decision tools to help you categorise your introduction

Help us improve these tools by giving us your feedback.

What you need to know

Information about the following for your chemical:

  • are you introducing a designated fluorinated chemical
  • is it a polyhalogenated organic chemical that you're introducing at volumes over 100kg, is persistent or has at least 1 environmental degradation product that is persistent
  • is it a solid or a dispersion
  • does it consist of solid particles in an unbound state or as an aggregate or agglomerate, at least 50% (by number distribution) of which has 1 or more external dimensions in the nanoscale
  • is it not soluble
  • does it have a nanoscale portion as part of the introduction that is not incidental to the overall introduction
  • is it a persistent gas you're annually introducing at volumes over 100kg
  • is it an organotin you're annually introducing at volumes over 10kg

What is your chemical's name or CAS number? (optional)

Note: enter this information if you'd like to save a copy for your own records by using the print function in your browser. A completed decision tool is not sufficient to meet your record-keeping obligations. 

Enter the CAS number or chemical name

Question 1

Are you introducing a designated fluorinated chemical?

Question 2

Is your chemical a polyhalogenated organic chemical that:

  • you're annually introducing at volumes over 100kg

    and

  • is persistent (refer to Part 2.1.6 of the Categorisation Guidelines) or has at least 1 known environmental degradation product that's persistent (refer to Part 2.1.4 of the Categorisation Guidelines)?

Question 3

Do all of the following apply (refer to Table Item 3 of Subsection 29(1) of the General Rules):

  • your chemical's a solid or a dispersion
  • your chemical consists of solid particles in an unbound state or as an aggregate or agglomerate, at least 50% (by number distribution) of which has 1 or more external dimensions in the particle range of 1‐100nm
  • your chemical's not soluble

    and

  • the introduction of the nanoscale portion of the chemical isn't incidental to the introduction of the non‐nanoscale portion (refer to Subsection 28(2) of the General Rules)?

Your introduction is in the assessed category.

Question 4

Is your chemical a persistent gas you're annually introducing at volumes over 100kg (refer to Part 2.1.6 of the Categorisation Guidelines)?

Question 5

Is your chemical an organotin chemical you're annually introducing at volumes over 10kg?

Go to Decision tool – Work out if your introduction is low risk for the environment (because it is internationally assessed for the environment).

Your introduction is in the assessed category because it has a medium to high indicative risk for the environment.

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