RA 6969 - Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act (1990)

a) To keep an inventory of chemicals that are presently being imported, manufactured, or used, indicating, among others, their existing and possible uses, test data, names of firms manufacturing or using them, and such other information as may be considered relevant to the protection of health and the environment;

b) To monitor and regulate the importation, manufacture, processing, handling, storage, transportation, sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures that present unreasonable risk or injury to health or to the environment in accordance with national policies and international commitments;

c) To inform and educate the populace regarding the hazards and risks attendant to the manufacture, handling, storage, transportation, processing, distribution, use and disposal of toxic chemicals and other substances and mixture; and

d) To prevent the entry, even in transit, as well as the keeping or storage and disposal of hazardous and nuclear wastes into the country for whatever purpose.

a) Chemical substance means any organic or inorganic substance of a particular molecular identity, including:

b) Chemical mixture means any combination of two or more chemical substances if the combination does not occur in nature and is not, in whole or in part, the result of a chemical reaction, if none of the chemical substances comprising the combination is a new chemical substance and if the combination could have been manufactured for commercial purposes without a chemical reaction at the time the chemical substances comprising the combination were combined. This shall include nonbiodegradable mixtures.

c) Process means the preparation of a chemical substance or mixture after its manufacture for commercial distribution:

d) Importation means the entry of a products or substances into the Philippines (through the seaports or airports of entry) after having been properly cleared through or still remaining under customs control, the product or substance of which is intended for direct consumption, merchandising, warehousing, or for further processing.

e) Manufacture means the mechanical or chemical transformation of substances into new products whether work is performed by power-driven machines or by hand, whether it is done in a factory or in the worker's home, and whether the products are sold at wholesale or retail.

f) Unreasonable risk means expected frequency of undesirable effects or adverse responses arising from a given exposure to a substance.

g) Hazardous substances are substances which present either:

h) Hazardous wastes are hereby defined as substances that are without any safe commercial, industrial, agricultural or economic usage and are shipped, transported or brought from the country of origin for dumping or disposal into or in transit through any part of the territory of the Philippines.

Hazardous wastes shall also refer to by-products, side-products, process residues, spent reaction media, contaminated plant or equipment or other substances from manufacturing operations, and as consumer discards of manufacture products.

i) Nuclear wastes are hazardous wastes made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incidental to the production or utilization of nuclear fuels but does not include nuclear fuel, or radioisotopes which have reached the final stage of fabrication so as to be usable for any scientific, medical, agricultural, commercial, or industrial purpose.

a) To keep an updated inventory of chemicals that are presently being manufactured or used, indicating, among others, their existing and possible uses, quality, test data, names of firms manufacturing or using them, and such other information as the Secretary may consider relevant to the protection of health and the environment;

b) To require chemical substances and mixtures that present unreasonable risk or injury to health or to the environment to be tested before they are manufactured or imported for the first time;

c) To require chemical substances and mixtures which are presently being manufactured or processed to be tested if there is a reason to believe that they pose unreasonable risk or injury to health or the environment;

d) To evaluate the characteristics of chemicals that have been tested to determine their toxicity and the extent of their effects on health and the environment;

e) To enter into contracts and make grants for research, development, and monitoring of chemical substances and mixtures;

f) To conduct inspection of any establishment in which chemicals are manufactured, processed, stored or held before or after their commercial distribution and to make recommendations to the proper authorities concerned;

g) To confiscate or impound chemicals found not falling within said acts cannot be enjoined except after the chemicals have been impounded;

h) To monitor and prevent the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes and their disposal into the country;

i) To subpoena witnesses and documents and to require other information if necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act;

j) To call on any department, bureau, office, agency, state university or college, and other instrumentalities of the Government for assistance in the form of personnel, facilities, and other resources as the need arises in the discharge of its functions;

k) To disseminate information and conduct educational awareness campaigns on the effects of chemical substances, mixtures and wastes on health and environment; and

l) To exercise such powers and perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities under this Act.

a) To assist the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the formulation of the pertinent rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act;

b) To assist the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the preparation and updating of the inventory of chemical substances and mixtures that fall within the coverage of this Act;

c) To conduct preliminary evaluation of the characteristics of chemical substances and mixtures to determine their toxicity and effects on health and the environment and make the necessary recommendations to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; and

d) To perform such other functions as the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources may, from time to time, require.

a) There is a reason to believe that the chemical substances or mixture may present an unreasonable risk to health or the environment or there may be substantial human or environmental exposure thereto;

b) There are insufficient data and experience for determining or predicting the health and environmental effects of the chemical substance or mixture; and

c) The testing of the chemical substance or mixture is necessary to develop such data.

a) Those included in the categories of chemical substances and mixtures already listed in the inventory of existing chemicals;

b) Those to be produced in small quantities solely for experimental or research and developmental purposes;

c) Chemical substances and mixtures that will not present an unreasonable risk to health and the environment; and

d) Chemical substances and mixtures that exist temporarily and which have no human or environmental exposure such as those which exist as a result of chemical reaction in the manufacture or processing of a mixture of another chemical substance.

a) Knowingly use a chemical substance or mixture which is imported, manufactured, processed or distributed in violation of this Act or implementing rules and regulations or orders;

b) Failure or refusal to submit reports, notices or other information, access to records, as required by this Act, or permit inspection of establishment where chemicals are manufactured, processed, stored or otherwise held;

c) Failure or refusal to comply with the pre-manufacture and pre-importation requirements; and

d) Cause, aid or facilitate, directly or indirectly, in the storage, importation, or bringing into Philippines territory, including its maritime economic zones, even in transit, either by means of land, air or sea transportation or otherwise keeping in storage any amount of hazardous and nuclear wastes in any part of the Philippines.

a) (i) The penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months and one day to six (6) years and one day and a fine ranging from Six hundred pesos (P600.00) to Four thousand pesos (P4,000.00) shall be imposed upon any person who shall violate section 13 (a) to (c) of this Act and shall not be covered by the Probation Law.f the offender is a foreigner, he or she shall be deported and barred from any subsequent entry into the Philippines after serving his or her sentence;

ii) In case any violation of this Act is committed by a partnership, corporation, association or any juridical person, the partner, president, director or manager who shall consent to or shall knowingly tolerate such violation shall be directly liable and responsible for the act of the employee and shall be criminally liable as a co-principal;

(iii) In case the offender is a government official or employee, he or she shall, in addition to the above penalties, be deemed automatically dismissed from office and permanently disqualified from holding any elective or appointive position.

b) (i) The penalty of imprisonment of twelve (12) years and one day to twenty (20) years, shall be imposed upon any person who shall violate section 13 (d) of this Act.f the offender is a foreigner, he or she shall be deported and barred from any subsequent entry into the Philippines after serving his or her sentence;

(ii) In the case of corporations or other associations, the above penalty shall be imposed upon the managing partner, president or chief executive in addition to an exemplary damage of at least Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00).f it is a foreign firm, the director and all officers of such foreign firm shall be barred from entry into the Philippines, in addition to the cancellation of its license to do business in the Philippines;

(iii) In case the offender is a government official or employee, he or she in addition to the above penalties be deemed automatically dismissed from office and permanently disqualified from holding any elective or appointive position.

c) Every penalty imposed for the unlawful importation, entry, transport, manufacture, processing, sale or distribution of chemical substances or mixtures into or within the Philippines shall carry with it the confiscation and forfeiture in favor of the Government of the proceeds of the unlawful act and instruments, tools or other improvements including vehicles, sea vessels, and aircrafts used in or with which the offense was committed. Chemical substances so confiscated and forfeited by the Government at its option shall be turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural resources for safekeeping and proper disposal.

d) The person or firm responsible or connected with the bringing or importation into the country of hazardous or nuclear wastes shall be under obligation to transport or send back said prohibited wastes;

Any and all means of transportation, including all facilities and appurtenances that may have been used in transporting to or in the storage in the Philippines of any significant amount of hazardous or nuclear wastes shall at the option of the government be forfeited in its favor.