Hazardous chemicals list in India under the 1989 MSIHC Rules
Find India's hazardous chemicals list in the MSIHC schedules. Check the official PDF, storage and activity tables, thresholds and emergency-plan roles.
India's hazardous chemicals list is in the schedules to the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical (MSIHC) Rules, 1989. Schedule 1 covers hazard criteria and named chemicals. Schedule 2 is the isolated-storage table. Schedule 3 is the industrial-activity table. Read these schedules with the applicability rules in the India Code document, because a listing is not a blanket ban or a permission to use the chemical.
For the official starting point, open MoEFCC's rules index. Look for S.O. 966(E), dated 27 November 1989, and the MSIHC Rules entry.
Where to find the hazardous chemicals list PDF
Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health hosts an MSIHC Rules PDF. That file is one official route to the list of hazardous chemicals. If another government portal won't open, try the Goa Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers index. It lists an English copy of the rules.
Use these as official access routes. Before relying on a downloaded copy for a site decision, check its amendment coverage against the applicable notifications. A recent webpage timestamp does not establish that the attached rules include every amendment. A search for an MSIHC rules 2016 PDF is not proof of a 2016 enactment.
Which MSIHC schedule should you check?
The coverage column follows the India Code text. The last column is a way to read the row.
| Schedule | What it covers | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule 1 | Part I hazard criteria and the named chemicals in Part II, Column 2 | Check both the criteria route and the named list. |
| Schedule 2 | Quantity-based table for isolated storage | Use the relevant storage row with the applicability provisions. |
| Schedule 3 | Quantity-based table for industrial activity | Read the relevant row and the quantity columns. |
Under Rule 2(e), the Schedule 1 route includes chemicals meeting Part I criteria or named in Part II, Column 2. Check both routes. Because a name search can miss a criteria-based chemical, do not stop at a failed text search in the PDF.
For a working lookup, identify the substance first. Then locate the relevant schedule and check the matching entry. Keep the chemical name, row and applicable rule together in your records rather than copying a quantity without its context.
Why the threshold columns matter
The schedules do not create one trigger for every duty. Rule 6 distinguishes the quantity columns and reserves Rules 10 to 12 for Column 4. A safety-report trigger is therefore not interchangeable with an emergency-planning trigger.
Read the actual row, quantity unit, column heading and notes before assessing applicability. Don't transfer a threshold from the isolated-storage table to the industrial-activity table. Nor should you assume that falling below a major-accident threshold removes every chemical-safety duty.
For searches such as "highly hazardous chemicals list", keep the jurisdiction clear. An overseas list cannot replace the Indian MSIHC schedules for this lookup.
On-site and off-site emergency plans
The MSIHC provisions assign different planning roles. The occupier prepares the on-site emergency plan. The concerned authority prepares the off-site plan, with information supplied by the occupier.
Delhi Labour's guidance describes on-site emergency plans by MAH factories, in consultation with the Factories Inspectorate. For district off-site plans, that guidance names the Deputy Commissioner, assisted by the inspectorate and other authorities. Check the responsible authority for your location rather than applying Delhi's designation everywhere.
If you need an on-site emergency plan PDF or format, start with the applicable planning provisions. A chemical-list download alone is not a compliant plan template.
MoEFCC also identifies the separate Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996. Those rules and the MSIHC Rules, 1989 are distinct instruments.
RegAffairs AI explains the MSIHC hazardous chemicals schedules.