Chlorinated solvents producers prepare for REACH

Producers have set up six product groups that eventually will become REACH registration consortia

The European Chlorinated Solvent Association (ECSA) has established six REACH “product teams” covering the solvents methylene chloride, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene and associated products methyl chloride, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride.

Each of the association’s seven members - Arkema, Dow Europe, Ercros, Lii Europe, Ineos Chlor, Solvay and Spolchemie – has joined the relevant product teams. Two additional Romanian solvent producers, Oltchim and Chimcomplex, are expected to join in the future.

Numbers in each team vary from two companies for trichloroethylene to ten firms for methyl chloride, which includes four ECSA members and one from the association’s parent trade body Euro Chlor. The other five members of the methyl chloride group are all silicone producers who use the compound as an intermediate.

Registration under REACH of methyl chloride is likely to be handled jointly by these companies through their respective trade bodies ECSA and the Centre Européen des Silicones (CES).

André Orban, who oversees ECSA’s REACH preparations, says it is still unclear precisely when the teams will evolve into formal REACH consortia. Nevertheless, he adds ECSA’s preparative work is providing useful experience to other product groups. In particular, rules on cost sharing developed by ECSA are gaining support throughout Euro Chlor. These rules see the costs relating to new studies required for registration being shared equally between consortia members, large and small firms alike, while the cost of administration will be scaled according to a company’s turnover.

Mr Orban says participants can join the teams at any time, but will still have to share the costs incurred from the outset. He is uncertain about the likelihood of other producers or importers joining the groups. Although chlorinated solvents are traded widely, he notes that some importers may only trade in small volumes. They and others may also not yet be aware of their REACH obligations.

Contact details for EuroChlor’s three REACH implementation coordination bodies – the Euro Chlor Project Team, the ECSA steering committee and the Chlorinated Paraffins steering committee – are available on its website together with a link to the key substances to be covered.

Of the six ECSA products, chloroform, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene have already undergone risk assessments under the EU’s 1993 Existing Chemicals Regulation. “Most of the data is (sic) already known,” says Mr Orban, “therefore we do not expect there to be much additional cost in additional studies.”

Both methyl and methylene chloride have at least a baseline hazard data set as a result of industry involvement with the OECD “high production volume” chemicals assessment scheme. Carbon tetrachloride, however, has not been included in the scheme. Once widely used as a solvent for cleaning textiles and in agriculture, use of the compound declined quickly as adverse health effects were confirmed. Nevertheless, it is still used as a raw material, an intermediate and a process reagent and is found in a number of articles.

Mr Orban is confident that the product teams have a thorough idea of how the products they sell directly are used. There are other possible uses of products sold through distributors. However, he notes that it will be up to downstream users to inform their suppliers of other applications.

• Euro Chlor REACH site
• REACH substance list

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