Business urged to begin phase out of SIN chemicals

Businesses across Europe are being urged to act now to identify substitutes for more than 250 harmful chemicals that could be banned in the coming decade under EU chemicals legislation.

The chemicals are contained in a SIN list – an acronym for Substitute It Now – published by a coalition of green groups last year including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and is intended to act as a black list for chemicals companies and their customers.

The list contains a wide range of potentially harmful chemicals that are currently in use, including substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction, as well as persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBT) materials that can build up in the body over time, causing irreversible damage.

Elizabeth Salter-Green of environmental lobby group Chem Trust said that many of the materials on the list were high production chemicals widely used in a huge number of everyday products.

"There are some chemicals on the list only used in niche applications, but there are also a number of high production volume chemicals where there is growing evidence that they are damaging to human, wildlife and environmental health," she said. "We are talking about a lot of chemicals found in widely used hard plastics and flame retardants."

Chemsec, the NGO which orchestrated the list, lobbied the European Chemicals Agency to designate the chemicals on the list as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) under the Registration Evaluation Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (Reach) directive, which came into effect late last year.

Under Reach, suppliers of products identified as potential SVHCs by the European Chemicals Agency are legally obliged to provide information on the chemical to their customers alongside a "safety data sheet". They must also provide information on the chemical to any consumers within 45 days of receiving an information request, while producers or importers of any of the chemicals listed must notify the European Chemicals Agency from 1 December 2011 of any products containing the listed chemicals.

Should a chemical be formally labelled as an SVHC, restrictions on its use will be tightened with companies obliged to substitute it for alternatives or provide comprehensive evidence that no viable alternative is available.

"The NGOs are pushing for the SIN list to be accepted as the next wave of chemicals designated as SVHCs," observed David Symons, director at green consultancy WSP Environmental. " If they are made SVHCs, the conditions that have to be met, like replying to public inquiries about the chemical within 45 days, will be so demanding that customers won't want them. It will become a de facto black list, and companies should keep a close eye on the chemicals that could become SVHCs."

Salter-Green said it remained unclear whether or not the ECA would formally adopt the list.

"Some in the chemicals industry have dismissed it as an unofficial list that should be ignored, but some EU legislators and retailers have been very positive," she said, adding that regardless of whether or not it is adopted there is a strong commercial case for businesses to try and avoid the listed chemicals.

"What is certain is that any company that makes the right noises about phasing out these chemicals will have a competitive advantage with increasingly environmentally conscious customers," she said.