Internationally-assessed for human health only - hazard and exposure

Guide to completing the ‘Hazard and exposure’ section of the pre-introduction report for ‘internationally-assessed for human health but not environment’ in AICIS Business Services.

Our hazard characteristic definitions are broader than the definitions or classification criteria under the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

Does your chemical have a human health and/or environment hazard classification?

Select your answer

• no
• yes
• I don’t know.

If you selected 'yes', you will be asked to select the hazard classification for your chemical in the dropdown box. For example, GHS, HCIS. 

The types of hazards could include:

• very toxic to aquatic life (H400)
• may cause long lasting harmful effects to aquatic life (H413)

What you need to know about environment hazard characteristics

The environment hazard characteristics you need to consider vary and depend on your introduction’s environment exposure band. For more help, take a look at Step 5.4 of the Categorisation Guide: Work out your environment hazard characteristics

Most of the time, to categorise correctly, you need to prove that your chemical does not have certain hazard characteristics. You must make sure you check the environment hazard characteristic definitions in the Categorisation Guide. We also tell you in the Categorisation Guide how you can prove your chemical does not have the hazard characteristics.

If the environment exposure band for your introduction is:

• 1 or 2, you need to be able to prove that your chemical does not have any of the hazard characteristics in environment hazard band D
• 3, you need to be able to prove that your chemical does not have any of the hazard characteristics in environment hazard bands D and C
• 4, you need to be able to prove that your chemical does not have any of the hazard characteristics in environment hazard bands D, C and B.

Does your chemical have an environment hazard characteristic?

These are any environment hazard characteristics that you have already identified at step 5.4 of the Categorisation Guide. The environment hazard characteristic could be separate from the environment hazard classification.

Environment hazard band A

• Harmful to any aquatic life 
• Industrial chemical (other than a polymer) that does not meet the criteria for ready biodegradability
• Bioaccumulation potential
• Polymer that is not stable
• Polymer that does not have a low cationic density
• Contains aluminium, chromium, copper, nickel, selenium, silver or zinc

Environment hazard band B

• Toxic to any aquatic life

Environment hazard band C

• Persistent and bioaccumulative
• Very toxic to any aquatic life

Environment hazard band D

• Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic 
• Adverse effects mediated by an endocrine mode of action
• Synthetic greenhouse gas 
• Ozone depleting chemical
• Contains arsenic, cadmium, lead or mercury

What is the environment exposure band for the introduction?

Select your answer: environment exposure band 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. 

Tip! If your introduction involves a designated kind of release into the environment, it is automatically in exposure band 4 for the environment. 

We define 'designated kind of release into the environment' to be where the chemical is intentionally released during use to land, biota, natural waterways, municipal water supplies or air (unless its only for domestic or personal use, or end use in an air freshener). It also includes any releases to the environment from firefighting end uses and releases into the ocean.

What criteria did you use to determine the environment exposure band?

Select your answer: item number 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 for your introduction. See below for the description of each item number as set out in Schedule 1, Part 2, Clause 3(1) of the Industrial Chemicals (General) Rules 2019.

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