space Press Releases, News Stories

By Keith Nuthall, Chemical News and Intelligence

LONDON, England, 10 September 2002 -- The European Commission (EC) has proposed that the chemicals nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylate should be banned, either as a substance, or in preparations of 0.1% and 1% respectively, when used for a wide range of industrial uses. Brussels said it had acted because the chemical can cause health and environmental problems; it is used in the production of resins, plastics, stabilisers in the polymer industry, in the manufacture of phenolic oximes, and in some speciality paints. The bans would cover the use of these chemicals for: *Industrial and institutional cleaning, except for controlled cleaning systems where washing liquids are recycled or incinerated; *Domestic cleaning; *Textile and leather processing, except where there is no release into waste water and where the chemical is "fully bound in the polymer matrix (finishing agents, textile printing, dyestuffs);" and for manufacturing systems with special treatment where "the process water is pre-treated to remove the organic fraction completely prior to biological waste water treatment."

*An emulsifier in agricultural teat dips; *Metal working, except in controlled systems where washing liquids are recycled or incinerated; *Manufacturing of pulp and paper; *Cosmetics, including shampoos; *Other personal care products, except spermicides.