More and more countries are introducing complex chemicals regulations. The first step in this process is the introduction of chemical inventories that list new and existing industrial chemicals manufactured in or imported into a particular country. The most well-known country-specific chemical inventories besides the European Union (EU) include Australia (AICS), China (IECSC), Japan (ENCS), Canada (DSL), Korea (ECL), New Zealand (NZIOC), the Philippines (PICCS), Switzerland (SWISS), Taiwan (TCSI), Thailand (TECI), Turkey (KKDIK), USA (TSCA) and Vietnam (VNECI).
In Europe, EU chemicals legislation has undergone fundamental reform with the introduction of the REACH regulation. The purpose of this regulation is to determine substance properties and consequently record (register), evaluate, authorize and restrict chemicals.