ChemSec

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The International Chemical Secretariat, ChemSec
Founded2002
FounderSwedish offices of World Wide Fund for Nature and Friends of the Earth, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and Nature and Youth Sweden
Type[governmental funded organisation (the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) contributes approx. 3/4 to the budget) [1] ]
FocusChemicals management and policy
Location
Area served
EU legislation; some environmental justice and development activities in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia
MethodPolitical advocacy
Website www.chemsec.org

The International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec) is a non-profit environmental organisation founded in Sweden in 2002 to advocate in favour of stricter regulatory controls on potentially hazardous chemicals and to work with businesses on reducing the production and use of hazardous substances in their products and supply chains. ChemSec receives about 25 percent of its funding from the Swedish Government, the rest comes from foundations, mainly in the EU and the US, as well as from individuals. ChemSec maintains the SIN List, identifying hazardous substances likely to be restricted under EU REACH regulation.

Contents

History

ChemSec was founded in 2002 by the Swedish offices of the World Wide Fund for Nature and Friends of the Earth, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and Nature and Youth. ChemSec is funded by governments and private grant-making trusts and foundations.

ChemSec argued in favour of tighter controls on chemicals in Europe under REACH, publishing analyses which contradicted industry estimates of the economic impact of the legislation. Since REACH entered into force ChemSec has continued to press for stricter chemicals regulation in the EU, arguing in favour of increasing the number of chemicals restricted under the RoHS Directive and in 2008 publishing the first version of the SIN List, a campaign tool to accelerate implementation of REACH and to help businesses identify hazardous substances.

Between 2005 and 2007 ChemSec worked with Eastern European NGOs on strengthening chemicals management and legislation in those countries. From 2006 to 2008, ChemSec worked with African and Asian NGOs on poverty and human rights issues relating to chemicals. In 2010 ChemSec was commissioned to produce a research report on flow of information in the electronics supply chain for the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) programme within the United Nations Environment Program. [2]

Guiding principles

ChemSec's stated objectives are to “bridge the gap between decision-makers, industry, NGOs and scientists and offer expertise and guidance on chemical management policies in order to get progressive chemicals legislation.” ChemSec also works with companies to secure their support for progressive chemicals legislation and reduce their use of hazardous chemicals by substituting harmful substances for safer ones. [3] ChemSec's interpretation of “progressive” chemicals policy incorporates the principles of precaution, substitution, polluter pays and right-to-know. [3]

European chemicals regulation

REACH

Influencing REACH was a priority for ChemSec until the regulation was passed in 2006. ChemSec argued in favour of stricter controls on chemical use on the basis of commercial advantages [4] and scientific evidence of benefits to human and environmental health. [5]

ChemSec's research with the Global Development and Environmental Institute at Tufts University, Boston, into the costs of implementing REACH [6] formed the basis of a 2004 Nordic Council of Ministers study, which concluded that the chemicals industry was overestimating the costs of changes to the new chemicals regulation in Europe. [7]

In 2006, the European Parliament commissioned ChemSec to produce a further report on the implications of REACH for developing countries. The report concluded that concerns about the potential for REACH to interfere with trade patterns were largely unfounded. [8]

RoHS

In 2010, ChemSec secured support from some manufacturers for their proposals [9] to restrict the use of brominated flame retardants and PVC in electronic goods under the RoHS Directive. [10] Although the EU rejected immediate restriction of specific substances, new measures to restrict substances likely to produce hazardous pollutants were included in the recast of the legislation. [11]

Endocrine disrupting chemicals

In 2011, ChemSec proposed a set of chemicals whose use should be legally restricted for their potential to disrupt hormone signalling. [12] The move, via ChemSec's SIN List initiative, coincides with EU plans over 2011–2012 to develop accepted regulatory criteria for endocrine disruptors (EDCs) and further restrict their use. [13]

Substitution of hazardous chemicals

SIN List

The SIN (Substitute It Now!) List is a list of chemicals evaluated by ChemSec as meeting EU criteria for being Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) under article 57 of REACH and whose use in future is therefore likely to be legally restricted. There is evidence from meetings in the European Parliament that the SIN List, in particular the addition of EDCs in 2011, is influencing which substances are being prioritised for the REACH process. [14]

Socially responsible investment

The potential for legal restrictions on chemical use increasing costs associated with reformulating products and modifying processes has resulted in SIN List data being used by investment analysis firms concerned with Socially Responsible Investment, to aid in calculating financial risk posed by companies’ sustainability profiles. [15] In 2012 ChemSec presented a catalogue of criteria to enable financial investors to evaluate the performance of the chemical industry., [16] and in 2013 ChemSec published a list of the European companies producing SIN List chemicals. [17]

SUBSPORT

To address the challenge of replacing hazardous substances with chemicals which have a genuine pedigree of safety, ChemSec is involved in the SUBSPORT project, an internet portal collating legal information and case studies on substitution, and databases of hazardous substances and their alternatives. [18]

Business relations

In 2004, ChemSec established its business group as a forum for multinational corporations to discuss chemicals management, develop initiatives for reducing the use of hazardous substances and advocate for progressive chemicals policy in Europe. In 2011 the group had the following members: [19]

ChemSec has published reports presenting arguments from companies in favour of stricter chemicals regulation under REACH [20] and tougher restrictions on halogenated compounds under the RoHS Directive, as described in a number of business position statements. [21]

International networks and development

In 2006, ChemSec surveyed and advocated for improved chemicals management and handling in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. [22] In 2008, ChemSec and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation administered a small-grant funding programme in Africa and Asia to support NGO projects to reduce harm from toxic chemicals and promote safer chemicals management. [23]

In 2011, ChemSec published a United Nations Environment Programme Study on Information on Chemicals in Products (CiP), part of data for developing recommendations to the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM), the decision-making body of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). [2]

ChemSec is a member of the International POPs Elimination Network, working on the Stockholm Convention, and a member of Health Care Without Harm and the European Environmental Bureau.

Board members

Key publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safety data sheet</span> Sheet listing work-related hazards

A safety data sheet (SDS), material safety data sheet (MSDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is a document that lists information relating to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products. SDSs are a widely used type of fact sheet used to catalogue information on chemical species including chemical compounds and chemical mixtures. SDS information may include instructions for the safe use and potential hazards associated with a particular material or product, along with spill-handling procedures. The older MSDS formats could vary from source to source within a country depending on national requirements; however, the newer SDS format is internationally standardized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive</span> European Union recycling directive

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is a European Community Directive, numbered 2012/19/EU, concerned with waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Together with the RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, it became European Law in February 2003. The WEEE Directive set collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods, with a minimum rate of 4 kilograms (9 lb) per head of population per annum recovered for recycling by 2009. The RoHS Directive set restrictions upon European manufacturers as to the material content of new electronic equipment placed on the market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive</span> European Union directive restricting ten hazardous materials

The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2002/95/EC, short for Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, was adopted in February 2003 by the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals</span> European Union regulation

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is a European Union regulation dating from 18 December 2006. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment. Its 849 pages took seven years to pass, and it has been described as the most complex legislation in the Union's history and the most important in 20 years. It is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will affect industries throughout the world. REACH entered into force on 1 June 2007, with a phased implementation over the next decade. The regulation also established the European Chemicals Agency, which manages the technical, scientific and administrative aspects of REACH.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976</span> United States federal law

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a United States law, passed by the 94th United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that regulates chemicals not regulated by other U.S. federal statutes, including chemicals already in commerce and the introduction of new chemicals. When the TSCA was put into place, all existing chemicals were considered to be safe for use and subsequently grandfathered in. Its three main objectives are to assess and regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market, to regulate chemicals already existing in 1976 that posed an "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment", as for example PCBs, lead, mercury and radon, and to regulate these chemicals' distribution and use.

The substitution principle in sustainability is the maxim of how processes, services, and products should be replaced with alternatives that result in a lower environmental impact. An example of a strong, hazard-based interpretation of the substitution principle in application regarding chemicals considers the overall impact: "hazardous chemicals should be substituted by less hazardous alternatives or preferably alternatives that mitigates identifiable hazards impacts".

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are organobromine compounds that have an inhibitory effect on combustion chemistry and tend to reduce the flammability of products containing them. The brominated variety of commercialized chemical flame retardants comprise approximately 19.7% of the market. They are effective in plastics and textile applications like electronics, clothes, and furniture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Chemicals Agency</span> Agency of the European Union

The European Chemicals Agency is an agency of the European Union working for the safe use of chemicals. It manages the technical and administrative aspects of the implementation of the European Union regulation called Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). ECHA is the driving force among regulatory authorities in implementing the EU's chemicals legislation. ECHA has to ascertain that companies comply with the legislation, advances the safe use of chemicals, provides information on chemicals and addresses chemicals of concern. It is located in Helsinki, Finland. ECHA is an independent and mature regulatory agency established by REACH. It is not a subsidiary entity of the European Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste</span> Discarded electronic devices

Electronic waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution. The growing consumption of electronic goods due to the Digital Revolution and innovations in science and technology, such as bitcoin, has led to a global e-waste problem and hazard. The rapid exponential increase of e-waste is due to frequent new model releases and unnecessary purchases of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), short innovation cycles and low recycling rates, and a drop in the average life span of computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decabromodiphenyl ether</span> Chemical compound

Decabromodiphenyl ether is a brominated flame retardant which belongs to the group of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). It was commercialised in the 1970s and was initially thought to be safe, but is now recognised as a hazardous and persistent pollutant. It was added to Annex A of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2017, which means that treaty members must take measures to eliminate its production and use. The plastics industry started switching to decabromodiphenyl ethane as an alternative in the 1990s, but this is now also coming under regulatory pressure due to concerns over human health.

China RoHS, officially known as Administrative Measure on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products is a Chinese government regulation to control certain materials, including lead. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China is responsible for approval and publication of China's RoHS regulations.

The regulation of chemicals is the legislative intent of a variety of national laws or international initiatives such as agreements, strategies or conventions. These international initiatives define the policy of further regulations to be implemented locally as well as exposure or emission limits. Often, regulatory agencies oversee the enforcement of these laws.

A substance of very high concern (SVHC) is a chemical substance which has been proposed as a candidate for inclusion on the Authorization or Restriction list of REACH. The addition of a substance to the SVHC Candidate List by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is the first step in the procedure for the authorisation or restriction of a chemical. It is expected that industries operating in EU member states abide by the regulations of REACH and submit chemicals for consideration when appropriate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste by country</span>

Electronic waste is a significant part of today's global, post-consumer waste stream. Efforts are being made to recycle and reduce this waste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste management law</span> Area of law regarding waste

Waste management laws govern the transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of all manner of waste, including municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, and nuclear waste, among many other types. Waste laws are generally designed to minimize or eliminate the uncontrolled dispersal of waste materials into the environment in a manner that may cause ecological or biological harm, and include laws designed to reduce the generation of waste and promote or mandate waste recycling. Regulatory efforts include identifying and categorizing waste types and mandating transport, treatment, storage, and disposal practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental compliance</span> Conforming to environmental laws, regulations, standards and other requirements

Environmental compliance means conforming to environmental laws, regulations, standards and other requirements such as site permits to operate. In recent years, environmental concerns have led to a significant increase in the number and scope of compliance imperatives across all global regulatory environments. Being closely related, environmental concerns and compliance activities are increasingly being aligned with corporate performance goals and being integrated to some extent to avoid conflicts, wasteful overlaps, and gaps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutant</span> Environmental term

The term environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (EPPP) was first suggested in the nomination in 2010 of pharmaceuticals and environment as an emerging issue in a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) by the International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE). The occurring problems from EPPPs are in parallel explained under environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP). The European Union summarizes pharmaceutical residues with the potential of contamination of water and soil together with other micropollutants under "priority substances".

The Substitute It Now! List is a database developed by the International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec) of chemicals the uses of which are likely to become legally restricted under EU REACH regulation. The list is being used by public interest groups as a campaign tool to advocate for increasing the pace of implementation of REACH and by commercial interests to identify substances for control in chemicals management programmes.

Alternatives assessment or alternatives analysis is a problem-solving approach used in environmental design, technology, and policy. It aims to minimize environmental harm by comparing multiple potential solutions in the context of a specific problem, design goal, or policy objective. It is intended to inform decision-making in situations with many possible courses of action, a wide range of variables to consider, and significant degrees of uncertainty. Alternatives assessment was originally developed as a robust way to guide precautionary action and avoid paralysis by analysis; authors such as O'Brien have presented alternatives assessment as an approach that is complementary to risk assessment, the dominant decision-making approach in environmental policy. Likewise, Ashford has described the similar concept of technology options analysis as a way to generate innovative solutions to the problems of industrial pollution more effectively than through risk-based regulation.

References

  1. ↑ Chemsec Annual report 2018
  2. 1 2 Nimpuno, N & C Scruggs (2011). Information on Chemicals in Electronic Products. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. ISBN   978-92-893-2218-8
  3. 1 2 ChemSec. An NGO Striving to Bridge the Gap. Archived November 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  4. ↑ ChemSec (2003). New chemicals policy in the EU - good or bad for companies? (PDF [ permanent dead link ])
  5. ↑ ChemSec (2003). Principles for a Toxic-Free Environment. (PDF [ permanent dead link ])
  6. ↑ Cry Wolf 2004
  7. ↑ Ackerman, F. & R. Massey (2004). The True Costs of Reach. Copenhagen: The Nordic Council of Ministers. ISBN   92-893-1079-0
  8. ↑ Ackerman, F. (2006). Implications of REACH for the Developing Countries - Possible Ways and Means to Preserve their Interests. Brussels: European Parliament. PDF
  9. ↑ ChemSec (2010) For a general phase-out of brominated and chlorinated organic substances in electronics Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  10. ↑ ChemSec (2010) Leading Electronics companies and Environmental organisations urge EU to restrict more hazardous substances in their electronic products in 2015 to avoid more dioxin formation (PDF [ permanent dead link ])
  11. ↑ Chemical Watch (November 24, 2010). European Parliament votes in favour of RoHS recast . Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  12. ↑ Chemical Watch, (May 19, 2011). EU Commission looks to SIN List for new SVHC candidates . Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  13. ↑ European Commission DG Environment. Endocrine Disrupters Website. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  14. ↑ Chemical Watch, (6.10.2011). MEPs pressure EU Commission on EDCs, cocktail effect. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  15. ↑ Environmental Finance, (12.5.2011). Dangerous chemicals list sparks concern for investors. Archived April 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  16. ↑ ChemSec, (2012). "Chemicals Criteria Catalogue - a guide for investors evaluating the chemicals management of chemical producers." (PDF [ permanent dead link ])
  17. ↑ ChemSec, (2013). The SIN Producers List - Companies Producing or Importing SIN List Chemicals in Europe. (PDF [ permanent dead link ])
  18. ↑ Lissner L, Romano D (2011). "Substitution for hazardous chemicals on an international level—the approach of the European project "SUBSPORT"". New Solut. 21 (3): 477–97. doi:10.2190/NS.21.3.l. PMID   22001043.
  19. ↑ ChemSec. Participants ChemSec Business Group Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  20. ↑ REACH 2005
  21. ↑ ChemSec. Electronics Industry Substituting Brominated Flame Retardants and PVC Archived October 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  22. ↑ ChemSec, (2006). Chemicals Management in the Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation. (PDF) [ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ ChemSec (2010) Welcome to ChemSec. p.21. (PDF) [ permanent dead link ]
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