Green Chemistry & Related Regulatory Developments Dr. Rashmi Naidu Director, Technical Services NS Support Services Pvt. Ltd (Technical Support Centre to SSS (Europe) AB, Sweden) Industrial Green Chemistry World, 4 and 5 Dec 2015., Mumbai www.ssseurope.org
About SSS (Europe) AB SSS is a much sought after organization offering regulatory compliance services Expertise due to hands-on experience with ELV, RoHS, REACH, Toy Safety Directive, BPR, and other regulations Clientele spread across Asia, Europe, Latin America and growing rapidly to other continents Caters to over 1000 companies presently Entire basket of REACH, CLP, GHS & K-REACH compliance services offered Also actively involved with the National Chemical Policy (NCP) of India
Issues addressed in the presentation Developments in Global Environmental Regulatory Norms Fundamental Objective of the Product Safety Regulations Major Regulations in Europe SVHC & SIN list Brand Owners Code of Conduct (CoC) Chemical database developed by SSS Regulatory Requirements & Need to Innovate Conclusions
Developments in Global Environmental Regulatory Norms Environmental pollution: Alarming Proportions Chemicals are everywhere! Need to protect human health & environment from the hazards of chemicals Credible information on many chemicals lacking Global product based & chemical regulations scenario: Fast evolving Many more regulations after ELV, RoHS, Toy safety directive, REACH, etc., reforms to TCSA (U.S.A) are proposed
Fundamental Objective of the Regulations Protection of human health and environment HOW?? 1. Risk avoidance, by design 2. Protection against risks that cannot be eliminated 3. Warning of any residual risks that remain This ensures that R&D efforts for substitution of hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives are focused during the product design phase & green chemistry has a major role to paly here!
Major Regulations in Europe End-of life Vehicle Directive: ELV Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances: RoHS Toy safety directive Registration, Evaluation, Authorization & Restriction of Chemicals: REACH SVHC list SIN list Brand owners Code of Conduct (CoC) Globally TSCA reforms expected soon Asian countries revamping their chemical regulations
End of Life Vehicle Directive This regulation aimed at: Reduce Reuse & Recycle of the metals, plastics and other chemicals used for automotive manufacture This was done from the point of view of reducing adverse effects on environment (landfills) as well as phase-out of banned heavy metals International Material Data System (IMDS) is an outcome of ELV directive which is a good example of Green Engineering
RoHS Directive Objective: restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, namely Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) to be substituted by safer alternatives. This has again seen Green Chemistry come to the fore & prompted the electronics industry to come up with innovative Lead free soldering & non-halogenated substitutes
REACH & SVHC REACH regulation has been developed in such a way that chemicals that pose undue risks to human health & environment far outweighing its socioeconomic importance will ultimately be restricted SVHC Substances of very high concern Candidate list Authorization List Restriction List The SVHC compliance process involves a systematic and phased-out approach, where industry can invest time and efforts on safer alternates (for a specific period of time) while continuing with its business. However, if no safer substitute by the Sun-set date, the Restriction clause sets in
Substitute it Now (SIN) List The aim of the SIN List is to spark innovation towards products without hazardous chemicals by speeding up legislative processes and giving guidance to companies and other stakeholders on which chemicals to start substituting. Can help speed up the transition to a world free from hazardous chemicals.
Brand Owners Code of Conduct (CoC) Apparel & Leather Brands Code of Conduct has since the last decade included list of hazardous chemicals that they do not want their suppliers to use This has resulted in many allergen dyes being replaced by plant based dye resulting in safer substitution Thus, there is a clear case of mandatory as well as voluntary regulations driving green chemistry
Chemical database developed by SSS Comprehensive database including Identifiers Properties: Toxicological & Eco-toxicological Analytical methods Regulation & Classification This shall be a valuable tool to differentiate hazardous chemicals from non-hazardous ones Credible information on 1,50,000 chemicals is available at the click of a computer key
Regulatory Requirements & Need to Innovate The world has reached a stage when the ill effects of chemicals can no longer be taken lightly Also, regulatory landscape of developed countries has built safety mechanisms to protect their populations from the chemical risks Developing countries have also followed (though reluctantly) picking up from the best practices of the REACH regulation If companies have to grow and cater to export markets, they will have to practice smart & green chemistry
Conclusions Application of green chemistry to industrial scale is challenging Scientific fraternity is trying its best Voluntary initiatives promoting chemical substitution have had limited success Regulations have set the framework where hazard chemicals need to be substituted and some have already been restricted Regulations also play a supportive role to identify priority chemicals for substitution It is in the interest of industry to adopt green chemistry proactively From the success of the REACH regulation it appears that regulations would be one of the key drivers of Green Chemistry
Contact Us SSS (Europe) AB, Sweden www.ssseurope.org E-mail: info@reach-onlyrep.eu NS Support Services Pvt Ltd (Brand name REACH Support ) www.reach-or.com E-mail: advisor@or-reach.com