Coatings Body Seeks To Ease Ink Sector's EU Fears

Progress on the REACH initiative is seen by the British Coatings Federation (BCF) as being 'good in parts' for the UK coatings industry.

Progress on the REACH initiative is seen by the British Coatings Federation (BCF) as being 'good in parts' for the UK coatings industry.

Three major improvements on the workability of the REACH proposals have been agreed by the European Council of Ministers.

They have been actively lobbied for by BCF as part of CEPE, and include a single pre-registration phase for substances and their intended uses, single registration for each substance, and the determination of the registration obligation for small volume substances by potential risk.

BCF believes that, taken together, those three changes will reduce the likelihood of many vital chemicals being withdrawn on the basis of cost.

However, the European Parliament is proposing stronger authorisation requirements for very hazardous substances than in the original proposal, firstly by limiting the period of authorisation to five years, and secondly by including the obligation to substitute such products even if their end use causes no exposure to danger, said the BCF.

BCF added that contrary to some media reports, there is still some way to go before the legislation is finally in place.

Until then, the BCF said that it will continue to press for changes to alleviate the concerns of the printing ink sector.

The organisation also hopes to maintain a level playing field for UK manufacturers that are competing in an increasingly fierce global market.

BCF is currently preparing guidance for members on the initial steps that should be taken to prepare for REACH.

In addition, encouraged by the European Commission, the CEPE working group is also developing use categories and exposure scenarios for coatings and inks manufacture and their application and use.

Recent progress to the REACH proposals includes the adoption by the European Parliament of its amendments to the commission's proposal at the First Reading.

In December, the EU member states achieved political agreement at an extraordinary Competitiveness Council meeting.

The Parliament and the council have agreed substantially the same changes to the original text, which, in the main, are intended to reduce the bureaucracy and costs of REACH.

There are, however, some major differences between the two institutions, notably on the extent to which substances of high concern that are subject to authorisation should have to be substituted and the length of time an authorisation is granted, according to the BCF.

The council will formally adopt its common position in the first part of this year.

Before that, the commission has to prepare a revised text based on the Parliament and council texts and this then will form the basis for the European Parliament's second reading.

As some of the proposals, particularly those on authorisation, are likely to be unacceptable to the Parliament, differences will need to be resolved believes the BCF.

The current aim of the EU institutions is that REACH will come in to force in April 2007.

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