Regulatory and Standards
Adrian Beard, pinfa President and Clariant, summarised developments in EU chemicals policies relevant to flame retardants. The new European Commission, nominated following the June 2024 European Parliament elections, has confirmed its support of the Green Deal, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the revision of REACH (the European chemicals regulation). This was also confirmed by Member States in Council in October.
The ECHA Flame Retardants Strategy is currently assessing a restriction of aromatic brominated flame retardants, as a ‘group’, and collection of information on relevant alternatives, i.e. PIN flame retardants. pinfa members are actively inputting to this process.
The proposed revision of REACH includes, amongst other changes, introducing a ‘generic’ risk approach (with restrictions by hazard properties only for certain uses, i.e. without assessing the risks), introduces a ‘mixture’ assessment factor, introduces new hazard properties (including Endocrine Disrupter) and the requirement to submit a REACH registration dossier for some polymers and possibly to notify all polymers. These changes will impact some flame retardants.
Other significant regulatory developments include the proposed PFAS restriction (which may impact TPFE use as an anti-drip synergist with FRs), the revised EcoDesign Regulation (which introduces the new concept of “chemical of concern”, which includes chemicals which “inhibit recycling), the Classification of melamine (which does not concern melamine compound FRs, unless they contain free melamine) and the objective of SSbD – Safe and Sustainable by Design chemicals for new chemicals.
The SSbD concept has been tested by pinfa member companies, showing that it requires large amounts of data and questioning feasibility of its application. The SSbD guidance document will be revised once more and a final version is planned for 2025.
To conclude, the ECHA Flame Retardants Strategy is first targeting brominated FRs, but phosphorus FRs will be assessed in a second stage. New concepts such as “chemical of concern”, risk assessment of ‘groups’ of chemicals and Safe and Sustainable by Design pose questions of feasibility. pinfa is actively inputting into these processes and working on implementation of possible future requirements, in order to ensure that regulatory developments drive market innovation towards safer fire safety solutions. The priority is to show that fire safety benefits of PIN flame retardants outweigh chemical risks.
Rajan Thangaraj, UL Solutions, presented the work underway on standards to accompany expected PFAS restrictions. In Europe, ECHA is currently finalising a PFAS restriction proposal, following the publication of a draft for nearly 6 000 responses to the public consultation. This proposal suggests a limit of 50 ppm for polymeric PFAS. In the USA, some 25 States are examining around 200 different bills to ban or PFAS in various applications. UL Solutions tests plastic materials and components for selected PFAS and fluorine according to UL 746G (Outline of Investigation for Non-Fluorine and Non-PFAS Containing Materials). This new standard introduces a Non-PFAS or Non-Fluorine Materials certification to the UL Solutions Yellow Card™ Plastics Recognition Program.. However, today, measurement methods are available to measure total fluorine and for specific PFAS in certain matrices, but not to measure total polymeric PFAS.
Visions from polymer producers
Interview: ELIX polymers
Luca Chiochia. Based in Tarragona, Spain, ELIX Polymers is a leader across Europe in ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) resins and derivates, with more than 45 years’ experience and expertise, supported by ISO 9001, 14001 and 50001 certification. We were the first ABS manufacturer to obtain ISCC+ certification for traceable and sustainable raw materials for our ABS production. We provide added-value individual solutions for customers in a wide range of industries, in particular meeting the stringent requirements of healthcare, automotive, appliances and electronics. New needs for safety and risk management are emerging with technology developments such as batteries, electric vehicles, integration of smart technologies into many sectors and the Internet of Things. This brings new requirements for fire safety, testing and global standards. At the same time, ELIX Polymers sees sustainability as increasingly important in fire resistance applications, increasing the need for non-halogenated FR materials. In particular, both in the EU and the USA, regulations are pushing for safer, non-toxic FRs. Non-halogenated FRs are also less likely to generate smoke and toxic gases in fires. We are today looking for new non-halogenated FR solutions and alternatives to PFAS anti-dripping agents to respond to developing regulatory requirements and sustainability objectives, whilst ensuring material properties and cost-effectiveness. ELIX Polymers is continuously investing in R&D to develop new thermoplastics solutions for tomorrow’s society and emerging technologies, with these objectives of sustainability, materials performance and cost efficiency.
