Brazil’s National Chemical Commission is Back

SPECIAL EDITION

Brazil watchers can expect the chemical agenda in the country to get an important impetus now that the National Commission on Chemical Safety (CONASQ) has been reinstated.? In a decree published on September 6th, President Lula’s administration made good on a promise to reconvene the well-respected council.?

Background

Up until it was disbanded in early 2019 by former President Bolsonaro, CONASQ was the model of participatory, interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder forum.? The Commission included representatives from all manner of government agencies, academia, NGOs, and industry associations.? The collegial atmosphere worked. ?

CONASQ, led by the Ministry of Environment, among other things, was tasked with developing a new framework industrial chemical policy that would result in a bill to be submitted to Congress.? CONASQ worked intently over a few years in a transparent and efficient manner considering models in the EU, the U.S., and Canada.? Eventually, the group developed a thorough draft to send to Congress by 2018.? This development would have placed Brazil as the first major economy in Latin America to adopt such a proposal.

However, once the CONASQ was disbanded, the proposal was put on ice.? In 2019, a Congressman took efforts into his own hands and submitted a bill in the Chamber of Deputies that was not as thorough as the CONASQ version.? Nonetheless, it gave those in favor of a new system something to work with.? That proposal – PL 6120/2019 – would later be replaced in its entirety by another version based heavily on the ill-fated CONASQ draft from 2018.? In fact, even though the group had officially been disbanded, at one point many of the former members came together to help in the advancement of the current PL 6120/2019.

And what exactly is that bill?? It is the current version of Brazil’s REACH-inspired national chemical regulation that will establish the hazardous chemical registry, the rules on chemical prioritization, risk assessment, and risk management.?

What does it all mean?

By re-creating CONASQ, the current Brazilian administration has taken an important step forward in establishing the regulatory infrastructure to support its ambitions to create a modern chemical management system.? The step is also likely to please OECD officials actively considering Brazil for accession.? Moreover, the thought leadership and talent in the CONASQ will be an important regional resource for regulatory collaboration efforts with neighboring countries.?

Link to Decree 11.686/2023:

DECRETO No 11.686, DE 5 DE SETEMBRO DE 2023 - DECRETO No 11.686, DE 5 DE SETEMBRO DE 2023 - DOU - Imprensa Nacional (in.gov.br)

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