news ECHA adds BPA to SVHC list
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced earlier this month that it has added bisphenol-A (BPA) to the REACH Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) –
http://bit.ly/2jfxGv5. BPA, which is a monomer component in
production of polycarbonate and epoxy resins, is one of four new additions to the list following proposals by several member states, including France, Sweden, Germany and Austria. The other additions are nonadecafluorodecanoic acid (PTFA), p-(1,1-dimethylpropyl) phenol, and 4-heptylphenol. All have some polymer industry applications. In a statement, PlasticsEurope said the
BPA move was expected. “As the harmon- ised classification of BPA as reprotoxic 1B fulfils the criteria for identification as SVHC according to article 57(c) of REACH, this development was expected. The justification for SVHC identification is based on intrinsic properties of the substance, not on use, exposure and risk,” said a spokesperson for PlasticsEurope’s Polycarbonate/Bisphenol-A Group.
CNTs boost fatigue
Researchers at Hamburg University have found that the addition of up to 0.05 wt% of single wall nano- tubes (SWCNTs) signifi- cantly improves fracture and fatigue performance of CFRP composites.
The addition of 0.5 wt%
of Tuball SWCNTs from OCSiAl to a hot melt epoxy prepreg system resulted in a 19% reduction in delami- nation area and a 5% improvement in compres- sion after impact strength in standard 28J impact tests. ❙
www.ocsial.com
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PC resins are not considered likely to fall within the scope of these obligations. “The overwhelming amount of all BPA produced is converted into polymers. Only techni- cally unavoidable trace levels of unreacted BPA may remain in the polymer matrix, which are usually far below the levels that would trigger SVHC-related communica- tion or notification obligations,” according to PlasticsEurope. The association also said that interme-
Inclusion on the Candidate List means
a chemical is considered to have poten- tially serious implications for human health or the environment and may lead to inclusion on the Authorisation List. While inclusion on the Candidate List does not restrict BPA use, it does initiate some additional legal obligations (
http://bit.ly/2jVQAYS). ECHA said that any company supplying materials or articles containing more than 0.1% of BPA has to inform its customers. Importers and producers of articles also have to notify ECHA within six months of listing. However, users and compounders of
diate uses of BPA, such as production of PC and epoxy polymers, are exempt from potential later Authorisation under REACH so no direct impact is foreseen on polymeric uses of BPA. PlasticsEurope’s statement repeated the finding of the recent evaluation of consumer safety carried out by the European Food Safey Authority (EFSA), which concluded current consumer exposure to BPA is far below the latest TDI values and does not pose a risk to any age group. ❙
www.echa.europa.eu ❙
www.plasticseurope.org
PP heads polymer growth in Poland
Demand for polymer in Poland is predicted to grow by around 3% a year to 2019 to reach a total of some 3m tonnes, according to new analysis from Compounding World publisher AMI. Polypropylene accounted
for near 25% of Poland’s polymer demand in 2016 and is expected to see strong demand growth. HDPE and PET is also expected to see good growth. Increasing demand will be
driven by continuing invest- ments in automotive produc- tion and manufacture of electrical appliances, as well as the development of Poland as a key regional hub for
COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2017
plastics packaging printing and conversion, according to the report. The growth forecasts are included in AMI’s latest
Polymer demand in Poland by resin type (2016)
Plastics Processors in Poland database, which lists company and activity details of 1,084 processing sites in the country. ❙
www.amiplastics.com
© Applied Market Information 2017
www.compoundingworld.com
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