additives feature | Plasticizers
surrounding environment has been used as an argu- ment to back up their national initiatives. However, plasticizers are physically bound to the plastic and they can only be separated from the PVC under unusually extreme conditions. Reports of these plasticizers causing asthma and allergies have since been shown to be unfounded and scientific studies have concluded that household dust does not correlate to human exposure levels, and neither is it an indicator of indoor air quality1
.
Plasticized PVC is a popular choice for cable insulation
tions for BBP and DIBP have been submitted, their use in the EU will be phased out by 21 February 2015. On the other hand, high phthalates have been found
to be safe in all current applications and do not require any classification for health or environmental effects. Based on the recently completed review by ECHA, the EU Commission concluded to maintain the existing restrictions on DINP and DIDP in toys and childcare articles which can be placed in the mouth. The already existing restrictions for their use in food contact materials still apply.
National initiatives In the EU, there are members states who have been putting forward their own initiatives related to specific plasticizers. In Denmark, the government announced its own national plan to phase out low phthalates by the end of 2013, imposing stricter rules than other European countries. However, the ban was soon postponed to 2015 and has now been scrapped all together. A survey issued by the Danish Environment Agency showed that a ban on DEHP, DBP, BBP and DIBP would be a challenge for manufacturers and importers of electronic goods. France has also passed its own national law on
phthalates, banning the use of DEHP in medical equipment in pediatrics, neonatology and maternity as of July 2015 onwards. Sweden is about to launch its own “action plan for a toxic free everyday life”, looking at a number of potential actions that could affect plasticizers to be implemented during the 2015-2020 period. In these countries, the idea of plasticizers allegedly leaching out from objects and migrating into the
The future of plasticizers It has taken over 20 years and cost millions of Euros to develop large enough volumes of non-classified plasticizers to satisfy the needs of tens of thousands of companies throughout the supply chain. The current EU regulatory framework should provide the necessary reassurance to consumers as well as a stable regula- tory environment for companies to continue investing in new products and applications. Overall, plasticizer producers remain strongly
committed to product safety and scientific risk assess- ments, while supporting their customers along the way. Today, plasticizer producers are highly engaged in improving the sustainable use of additives as part of the work being done under VinylPlus, the European PVC industry’s sustainability programme2
. Ensuring that plasticizers are well understood
remains a key challenge for the sector, although progress has been made recently. The industry will continue working hard to provide the information needed by policy makers, regulators, consumers and other stakeholders to be able to grasp the benefits of flexible PVC articles.
About the author Stéphane Content is sector group manager of The European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates (ECPI), the Brussels-based association representing the six major European manufacturers of plasticizers, alcohols and acids. Website:
www.plasticisers.org Twitter: @ECPlasticisers
References 1: H. Fromme et al., “Occurrence of phthalates and musk fragrances in indoor air and dust from apartments and kindergartens in Berlin (Germany), Indoor Air 2003, 1-8 // Kerstin Becker et al. “DEHP metabolites in urine of children and DEHP in house dust”. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 207 (2004); 409-417. // Tobias Schripp et al. “Chamber studies on mass-transfer of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butylphthalate (DnBP) from emission sources into house dust”, Atmospheric Environment 44 (2010) // Ian Kimber and Rebecca J. Dearman.” An assessment of the ability of phthalates to influence immune and allergic responses”, Toxicology 271 (2010) 73–82.
2:
www.vinylplus.eu 46 COMPOUNDING WORLD | August 2014
www.compoundingworld.com
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