Guidelines for the Importation, handling, transportation and storage of Chemicals in Liberia (Regulatory Instrument No: RI/C&E-002-04/20)

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY P.O. Box 4024 4th Street Sinkor, Tubman Boulevard, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia REGULATORY INSTRUMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPORTATION, HANDLING, TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE OF CHEMICALS IN LIBERIA REGULATORY INSTRUMENT No: RI/C&E-002-04/20 2 1. BACKGROUND As part of its mandate under Part II Section 6 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act and Part IV Section 49 of the Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia, the EPA formulates these guidelines for subsequent promulgation. These guidelines are intended for person(s), companies and other stake holders involved in any act of importation, handling, transportation and storage of chemicals (agrochemicals, explosives, laboratory, industrial chemicals, petrochemicals and additives) into Liberia. These guidelines are for obtaining license to import, handle, transport and store chemicals in Liberia. These guidelines prohibits the importation of chemicals restricted under international conventions to which Liberia is a state party. 2. REGISTRATION AND IMPORTATION 2.1. Application The importation of chemicals to Liberia requires a license for importation from the EPA. An applicant wishing to import chemicals into Liberia shall provide the following to the EPA: I. Application letter on company’s letter head (with telephone/GSM Numbers and e-mail) which shall be addressed to “The Executive Director, Environmental Protection Agency, 4th Streets, Sinkor, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia”. II. The applicant shall indicate the list of chemicals, the quantities required in standard/metric units and the intended uses of the chemicals in both hard and soft copies (Microsoft excel). It is emphasized that specific chemical names of the items required shall be given similar to those stated on the MSDS. General name or physical description of the chemicals, e.g. foaming agent, low density chemicals, industrial gases, water softeners, etc. shall not be deemed acceptable. III. The applicant shall obtain and duly fill the application form which shall be signed by a Technical Officer or the Managing Director/CEO of the company/ consignee. Any person serving as Technical Officer should have a minimum of Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any related science disciplines and shall submit the following: a. Copy of certificate of incorporation of the consignee (Original for sighting) b. Copy of Current Tax Clearance of the consignee (Original for sighting) c. Proforma Invoices or unsigned IPD (of the chemicals intending to import) 3 d. Evidence of product registration with EPA (where applicable). For companies importing chemicals for the first time, the list of chemicals (if approved) will be added to the national pollutant registry. e. Credentials, medical certificate of fitness, and letter of appointment/acceptance of the technical officer f. Certificate of manufacture issued by the relevant regulatory body in the country of source. Companies importing consumable chemical products that do not undergo further processing (e.g. brake fluid, car care products, paints, sealant etc.) shall submit Certificate of Manufacture and Free Sale issued by the regulatory authority in the country of origin. g. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) from the manufacturer which shall have the following information: i Identification of the product and the company ii Composition and information on ingredients iii CAS/EINECS/EC number iv Hazard identification/HMIS rating v First aid measures vi Firefighting measure vii Accidental release measures g Handling and storage viii Exposure control/person protection measures ix Physical and chemical properties x Stability and reactivity xi Toxicological information xii Ecological information and Disposal consideration xiii Other information xiv Transport information xv Regulatory information Companies applying for chemicals that require approval from other government regulatory authorities shall attach such letter of approval. E.g. chemicals used for explosives from Ministry of Mines, Agrochemicals from Ministry of Agriculture etc. 4 2.2. The Chemicals Every chemical imported or intended to be imported into Liberia shall be well labeled. The labeling on the chemicals must be in accordance with the Global Harmonized System of classification and labeling of chemicals (GHS). In addition, the labeling shall include: a. The name of product/brand name and CAS/EINECS/EC number b. Name and address of manufacturer/importer c. Batch number d. Production and expiration date where applicable e. Storage conditions 3. PROCESSING OF LICENSE Upon successful submission of application to the Agency, a response is sent to the company. Upon satisfactory vetting of the application, a response letter with payment advice is sent to the company. A print-out of the payment advice and the bank payment slip shall be presented at EPA accounts department for issuance of EPA official receipt. The Agency then processes the license after satisfactorily assessing the company’s ability to suitably manage the chemical. The duration between application for a license and arrival of the shipment shall not be less than 30 days. 4. ISSUANCE OF CHEMICAL IMPORTATION LICENSE Once the license is approved, the applicant is notified via email or mobile phone. The applicant may proceed to the ERS Reference Laboratory to collect their license. 5. CLEARING OF CHEMICALS FROM PORT OF ENTRY Authorization to clear must be obtained prior to the shipment of goods into Liberia. Applicant shall apply to “The Executive Director, Environmental Protection Agency, 4th Streets, Sinkor, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia”, on company’s letter head attaching the following documents i Copy of chemical importation license issued by EPA ii Copies of shipping documents as follows: a. Single goods declaration (SGD) Form b. Bill of lading/Airway bill c. Application form d. Risk Assessment Report (RAR) 5 e. Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) f. Packing list g. Certificate of analysis/quality Control Certification - Name, signature and designation of analyst must be clearly stated on the certificate. h. Certificate of value/commercial invoice Permission shall be issued upon satisfactory evaluation. Applicants should note that issuance of license to import chemicals does not authorize the importer to clear the consignment without first obtaining an approval from the EPA to clear. 6. TRANSPORTATION OF CHEMICALS No person shall handle, offer for transport, or transport chemicals unless he or she is trained or under the direct supervision of a trained person. An “Approval to transport” must be obtained prior to the transportation of the goods from the port of entry to the storage facility. Applicant shall apply to “The Executive Director, Environmental Protection Agency, 4th Streets, Sinkor, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia”, on company’s letter head attaching a copy of authorization to clear issued by EPA. The applicant shall obtain and duly fill up the application form and return same to the EPA. An approval shall be granted after the review of the application. Depending on the nature of the consignment and chemical, the EPA shall dedicate a team of technicians to accompany (escort) its transportation from the port of entry to the storage facility. The cost of transportation and escort shall be covered by the importer. The technical officer of the company shall be present during the transportation of the chemicals. The transportation of chemicals from the port of entry to the storage facility shall be done only by an EPA accredited transporting company. All drivers of the transporting company shall be trained in Emergency Response and preparedness to adequately respond to emergency. Each transporting vehicle shall be assessed and cleared by the EPA escort before approval of the transportation. 7. RENEWAL OF LICENSE TO IMPORT CHEMICAL Renewal of license to import chemicals (excluding restricted and controlled chemicals) into Liberia is annually and shall be initiated attleast 90 days before the expiration of the previous license. Application for renewal of license shall be addressed to the Executive Director, Environmental Protection Agency, 4th Streets, Sinkor, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia, stating the list 6 of chemicals; quantity required in standard/metric unit and intended uses of the chemicals in both hard and soft copies (Microsoft excel). The following documents should be attached: i Duly filled application form ii Copy of the expired permit iii Copy of current tax clearance (original for sighting) iv Status and disposal records of the previous year’s importation v Net weight/volume 8. REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL CHEMICAL(S) Any request for additional chemical(s) to an existing license in a current year shall attract another application. The applicant shall indicate the list of chemicals, quantities in standard/metric units and the intended use(s) of the chemical(s) in both hard and soft copies (Microsoft excel). The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the additional Chemical(s) shall be submitted along with a copy of the previous license for which additional request is being made. The process shall attract additional fees proportional to the initial fees regime. 9. FEES The fees for importation and clearing shall be determined by the EPA using the EPA model for levying charges on chemical importation, handling and storage. The model for the calculation of import fees is appended to these guidelines 10. TIME FRAME FOR PROCESSING REQUEST A processing period of ten (10) work days shall be allowed between the time of submission of application and a satisfactory warehouse inspection for import license to be issued. The authorization to clear chemicals takes five (5) work days while the approval letter to transport takes three (3) work days to process. The clock stops whenever compliance directive is raised on a process and will continue upon full compliance. 11. STORAGE AND INSPECTION Applicant shall have storage facilities for chemicals to be imported. The facility shall be inspected for compliance with good storage practices. The selection of a storage facility shall be subject to the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). Routine inspections of storage facilities 7 shall be done annually by EPA prior to importation to ascertain compliance with good distribution practice. The warehouse shall comply as follows: i Location: Chemicals shall not be stored in buildings less than 100m from where people reside or in such a manner as to pose health hazards and/or environmental risk to the public. The storage facility shall not be located less than 100m from a wetland or water course. ii Storages: A chemical warehouse shall have well written instructions (Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and records, which documents all activities relating to the storage, distribution and disposal of chemicals. iii Space: The space for storage of chemicals shall be adequate enough to allow for proper and orderly arrangement of the chemicals. The materials should be neatly stacked away from the wall iv Storage Condition: a. Chemicals shall be stored under conditions specified by the manufacturer b. Materials shall be stored according to their hazard Class and rating. c. Flammable chemicals shall be stacked away from Sources of ignition or sparks d. Chemicals with affinity for oxidation shall be kept away from oxidizing agents. v. Access Access to the warehouse shall be restricted to staff and/or inspectors. The warehouse shall be adequately ventilated and well lit. Expired, obsolete or damaged chemicals are to be isolated and labeled as such. vi. Utilities: a. First aid box shall be well stocked with the necessary medicaments. b. Appropriate updated Fire extinguishers should be present and in good quantity. 8 c. Personal protective equipment (PPE) – overalls, boots and nose mask, eye goggle, hand gloves and other equipment appropriate for handling chemicals d. Water for use in the warehouse e. Waste disposal facility. 12. IMPORTANT NOTE It is an offence for any company to import chemicals without a “Chemical Import License”. The License granted is an authorization for the applicant to import and shall therefore be obtained before order is placed or shipped. In order to obtain a Chemical Import License, applicants are required to have a storage facility duly approved by the Agency. All documents submitted to the EPA must be in the English language. 13. FEE FOR REGISTRATION AND IMPORTATION Fees are determined based on the EPA fees regime. The regime for levying fees for chemical registration and importation is based on the hazard rating of the chemical. This system is designed in a manner to ensure that chemicals are ascribed importation charges based on their hazard ratings: meaning the higher the hazard ratings (potential impact to human health and the environment), the higher the cost of importation. As a standard, the Health Management Information System (HMIS) ratings will be used for hazard classification. The total bill (in USD) for chemical imported calculated by the following formula: 𝑄𝑝 = 𝑅𝑥𝐻𝑖 𝑥𝑄𝑖 Qp = Quantity Price; R =Rate per metric ton; Hi =Hazard Index based on HMIS ratings and Qi = Quantity to be imported in metric tons. 9 FEES SCHEDULE Table 1: EPA approved Hazard Ratings based on HMIS HMIS Rating Hazard Index Interpretation 0 1.0 Minimal Hazard 1 1.5 Slight Hazard 2 2.0 Moderate Hazard 3 2.5 Serious Hazard 4 3.0 Severe Hazard Table 2: Rate per chemical category Chemical/Category Standard Unit Rate (USD) Petrochemicals Liter / Kilogram 0.05 Agrochemicals Liter / Kg 0.15 Explosives Metric tons 1.875 Laboratory Chemicals Liter/ Kilogram 0.05 Industrial Chemicals Class A Liter/Kilogram 0.50 Industrial Chemicals Class B Liter/Kilogram 0.40 Sodium Cyanide Metric tons 6.5 Industrial chemicals Class A = chemicals used in paint production & mining industry (excluding sodium cyanide); Industrial chemicals Class B = chemicals used in breweries, distilleries, detergent/toiletries, mattress/foam, steel, cement production, flour mill, construction and etc. 10 Table 3: Example of Pricing per Standard Unit Product Category Rate per Standard Unit (USD) *Hazard Index Quantity of Chemical Imported Price Standard Unit (USD) Ammonium Nitrate Explosives 4.95 3.0 1 MT $14.85 Sodium Cyanide Sodium Cyanide 6.5 4.0 1 MT $ 26.00 Glyphosate Agrochemical 0.15 1.5 1 L / Kg $ 0.225 Copper Sulfate Industrial Chemicals Class A 0.50 2.0 1 L / Kg $ 1.00 Ethanol Industrial Chemicals Class B 0.40 2.0 1 L / Kg $ 0.80 *Hazard Index available on the MSDS on the chemical 14. IMPLEMENTATING UNIT AND DEPARTMENT The Environmental research and Standards Unit of the Department of Compliance and Enforcement is the Unit responsible for the full implementation of these guidelines. The Department of Compliance and Enforcement is responsible to communicate these guidelines to all stakeholders to ensure compliance and implementation. The EPA remains committed to work with relevant line ministries, agencies and commissions for the full implementation and enforcement of these guidelines. 15. AMENDMENT Any provisions of these guidelines may be amended or altered upon the Executive Director’s approval of suggestions from the management team for such amendment accompanied by the rationale necessitating the amendment. 11