Summary and conclusions

Øget videnberedskab om kemiske stoffer i plastindustrien

Background and purpose
The examination
Main conclusions
Project results

Through a chemical project, the Danish Plastics Federation (PD) has established a knowledge basis within the Danish plastics industry on health and environmental effects of plastic-related chemical substances. The aim of the project is to prepare the Danish plastics industry for EU’s new chemical legislation REACH. The project has mapped approximately 1300 substances that can be found in the Danish plastics industry. The mapped substances have been entered into a web-based database, KemiProfil, from which it is possible to search for information on the substances’ regulation and function in plastics etc. Approximately 300 substances have been identified which are evaluated as being potentially damaging to the health and environment. A substance profile has been prepared for 16 hotspot substances. Hotspot substances are substances which are in focus politically based on a suspicion of damaging effects to the health and environment, high-tonnage substances in the plastics industry or substances for which the trade has specifically requested more knowledge about the effects on the health and environment. The substance profiles describe the status of the knowledge on effects to the health and environment and the regulation of the individual substances. It contains inter alia an easily understood summary so that even non-professionals can obtain knowledge about the individual substances. The substance profiles are available through KemiProfil.

Background and purpose

The EU has passed a new chemical strategy called REACH which means that a new chemical legislation is on the way. REACH places the responsibility for a health and environmentally secure production and use of chemicals on the industry. Included in this responsibility is an obligation for the industry to ensure that the relevant information on health and environmental risks from the chemicals is available. The demand for information includes the entire production chain meaning both manufacturers of chemical substances and the industry which further treat and consume the chemicals.

The PD member companies are primarily companies which manufacture plastics. Many different chemicals are used in the production and manufacturing of plastics – polymers, additives and subsidiary materials. Therefore, the companies have a great demand for continually updating their knowledge and readiness in the chemical field and this demand is expected to grow with the coming EU chemical legislation. As part of the plastics industry’s trade-oriented efforts 2002-2003, PD has carried out a chemical project aimed at establishing a knowledge basis on health and environmental effects of prioritised chemical substances, thereby preparing the Danish plastics industry for REACH.

The examination

During the chemical project and in cooperation with the Danish Toxicology Centre (DTC), PD has carried out a mapping and prioritisation of plastics-related chemical substances with a focus on additives and subsidiary materials as well as monomers and, to a lesser degree, polymers. The mapping has been carried out based on different authority lists, contact to the plastics trade, handbooks etc. All mapped substances have been entered into a database. In the database, which has been named KemiProfil, it is possible to search for information on the individual substances’ function in plastics, regulation with regard to the working environment, use in materials meant for contact with food and on status with regard to EU’s list of dangerous substances as well as the list of potential endocrine disrupters, the EPA Effect List and the List of unwanted substances.

The mapped substances have been prioritised based on their health and environmental classification and their occurrence on the EPA Effect List 2000 and the List of unwanted substances 2000. This has identified approximately 300 potentially problematic substances.

DTC has prepared substance profiles for 16 hotspot substances, chosen in cooperation with the plastics industry. The hotspot substances are substances that are either in focus politically because of a suspicion of damaging effects to the health and environment or substances for which the plastics industry has specifically requested knowledge about their health and environmental effects. A substance profile describes the existing knowledge about health and environmental effects and the regulation of a substance including current authority activities. The substance profiles contain an easily understood summary so that both professionals and non-professionals can obtain an overview of the most significant health and environmental conditions for a substance. The substance profiles are available through the database KemiProfil.

It is the intention that the data and substance profiles in the web-database KemiProfil are continually updated and expanded.

Main conclusions

Approximately 1300 chemical substances that may be found in the Danish plastics industry have been mapped. The mapped substances primarily include additives and subsidiary materials but also monomers and, to a lesser extent, polymers. Approximately 300 substances have been prioritised as potentially problematic substances based on their health and environmental hazard classification and/or their occurrence on the EPA Effect List 2000 and the List of unwanted substances 2000.
Substance profiles have been prepared for 16 hotspot substances describing the status of knowledge about their health and environmental effects. The hotspot substances are three phthalates: DEHP, DIDP and DINP, three flame retardants: decabromodiphenylether, tetrabromobisphenol-A, antimontrioxide, two isocyanates: MDI and TDI, an organic tin compound as well as bisphenol A, acrylic acid, methylmethacrylat (MMA), p-benzoquinon, dicumylperoxide, styrene and ethylenglycol.

The substance profiles show that

styrene, acrylic acid, MDI and TDI primarily constitute a health problem in a working environment where repeated inhalation of the substances down to the established limit value involves a risk of effects that are harmful to the health. In addition, MDI and TDI pose a risk of skin and respiratory allergies.
MMA primarily poses a risk of effects that are harmful to the health in the working environment through repeated inhalation at exposure levels above the limit value for the substance. MMA also poses a risk of allergy by skin contact.
DEHP poses a health problem in the working environment, when children are exposed through consumer products - particularly toys, when patients are exposed through medical equipment and when particularly children are diffusely exposed through the environment, including through food and mother’s milk. The risk of health hazardous effects to the general population through diffuse exposure in the environment is, however, being debated as there is significant uncertainties about the size of the exposure to DEHP through the outer environment and about transformation and discharge of DEHP in humans.
Data for DIDP and DINP indicate that these two phthalates do not pose a risk of effects that are harmful to the health and environment at the current exposure levels. However, the possible endocrine disrupting effects of a number of phthalates, including DIDP and DINP, must be investigated further.
Ethylenglycol is not estimated to pose a risk of effects that are harmful to the health and environment in normal conditions or to the consumers and general population.
MDI, styrene, ethylenglycol and MMA are generally not estimated to pose any risk of environmentally harmful effects.
The phthalates DEHP, DIDP and DINP do not pose any risk of environmentally harmful effects. There may be an accumulation of the substances in environments that are deficient in oxygen such as waste silt and sea sediments and spreading of the substances should be limited.
For other substances, there is generally too few data to estimate whether they pose a risk of effects that are harmful to the health and environment.

All mapped substances have been entered into a web-based database, KemiProfil, in which information can be found on the regulation of the substances and their function in plastics etc. In addition, substance profiles for the hotspot substances can be found in the web-database.

Project results

Mapping of chemical substances in the Danish plastics industry

Based on searches in the Nordic product registers’ SPIN database, various authority lists and handbook literature as well as on a dialogue with the Danish plastic manufacturing companies, approximately 1300 substances have been mapped – primarily additives and subsidiary materials but also monomers and, to a lesser extent, polymers which can be found in the Danish plastics industry.

Web-based database

All mapped substances have been entered into the database KemiProfil. The database can be searched for the following information about the substances:

CAS-no.
EINECS/ELINCS-no.
Substance name and synonyms
Function in plastics
EU classification
Regulation in the working environment
Status in relation to the use in materials that come into contact with food
Status in relation to the EPA Effect List and the List of unwanted substances
Status in relation to the EU list of documented endocrine disruptors and potential endocrine disruptors

The database is continually updated. The users of the database can submit suggestions to and comments about the database which is edited by PD.

Prioritisation of mapped substances

A prioritisation has been carried out of the mapped substances based on the hazard classification of the substances as well as any occurrences on the EPA Effect List 2000 and the List of unwanted substances 2000. This process has identified approximately 300 substances which have been classified as acutely toxic, carcinogenic, toxic to reproduction, mutagenic, sensitizing, health hazardous by inhalation or skin contact or as hazardous to the environment and which at the same time can be found on the Effect List 2000 or the List of unwanted substances 2000. Cadmium and lead compounds have been separated as these substances are covered by an import and manufacturing ban.

Substance profiles for selected substances

Substance profiles have been prepared for 16 hotspot substances which describe their physical/chemical data, status of the existing knowledge about effects to the health and environment, exposure conditions, status of international activities and regulations with regard to the substances and they contain a list of international expert groups that carry out health and environmental assessments of the substances. They also have an introductory summary which is easily understood by non-professionals.

Fact box

Further information can be obtained from the Danish EPA website www.mst.dk and from the EU Commission website http://europa.eu.int/comm/index_da.htm.