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What's Happening from Environmental Building News

July 1, 2009

Restrictions on Widely Used Chemicals Sought

The European Chemicals Agency, which coordinates the REACH program in the European Union (EU), recommended in June 2009 that seven chemicals, most of which are widely used in construction products, should be restricted. If adopted by the EU, these recommendations could significantly affect polystyrene insulation and flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products.

REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of CHemicals) is the groundbreaking law in the EU that went into effect in June 2007 to restrict the use of chemicals posing risks to human health and the environment (see EBN June 2007). Under REACH, new chemicals must be shown to be reasonably safe before coming onto the market (in the U.S., by contrast, most chemicals are considered safe until proven hazardous), and existing chemicals considered to be toxic will be heavily regulated. There are various classifications of hazardous chemicals under REACH, including carcinogenic, toxic to reproduction, very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB), and persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT).

For chemicals that are already in use, the European Chemicals Agency periodically recommends that chemicals of “very high concern” be added to an “Authorization List,” and the European Commission makes the final decision about whether to list these chemicals. Chemicals added to this Authorization List will in the future only be able to be used in the EU when authorized for specific purposes.

Six of the seven candidate chemicals on the June 2009 candidate list have relevance to the construction industry.

• HBCD or HBCDD (hexabromocyclododecane) is a brominated flame retardant that is used today in all polystyrene insulation—both extruded (XPS) and expanded (EPS). HBCD, considered a persistent bioaccumulative toxin (PBT), is used in concentrations of 0.5% to 2.0% by weight in these insulation materials. HBCD is also under review for possible inclusion in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. (See EBN June 2009 for more on the Stockholm Convention; see EBN June 2004 for more on brominated flame retardants and HBCD.)

• DEHP (bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate) is a widely used phthalate plasticizer for PVC products, including flooring, roofing, and siding. The chemical, which is considered toxic to reproduction, makes PVC more flexible and, thus, useful in a much wider range of products.

• BBT (benzylbutylphthalate) is another plasticizer considered toxic for reproduction. It is used in PVC flooring, various textile and leather coatings, and certain sealants and adhesives.

• DBP (dibutylphthalate), also considered toxic for reproduction, is a specialized plasticizer used in PVC and other polymers for floor coverings, packaging, adhesives, and paint formulations.

• MDA (4,4-diaminodiphenylmethane) is a hardener used in certain epoxy resins and adhesives. It is considered carcinogenic.

• Short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), classified as both PBT and vPvB, are used as flame retardants and/or plasticizers in various applications, including high-performance rubber, sealants, paints, and textile coatings.

• Musk xylene, which is not used in building products, is a fragrance enhancer used in fabric softeners, fabric conditioners, and detergents. It is classified as vPvB.

Should the EU accept the recommendation to list these chemicals in REACH, it may send polystyrene manufacturers scrambling for other ways to pass fire-safety tests, and it may increase interest in alternative insulation materials that do not require brominated flame retardants. It may also shift some manufacturers away from using PVC in flexible plastics.

– Alex Wilson

For more information:

REACH, European Chemicals Agency

http://guidance.echa.europa.eu/about_reach_en.htm

DISCUSSIONS

Reader-contributed comments related to EBN: 18:7 - Restrictions on Widely Used Chemicals Sought. Comments are listed with newest at the top.

HBCD Posted by Cate Leger on Jul 8, 2009, 10:28 AM
Thank you Alex for the update on the EU's health protection efforts. I wanted to point out that HBCD is also used in textiles--another area important to the building industry. While the vast majority of HBCD is used in polystyrene (85%), the 10 percent used in textiles is significant because it is inside our buildings and used on drapery and upholstery fabrics.

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