From the European Coalition to end Animal Experiments:

The ECEAE has launched a new initiative with concerned companies across the industry, with the goal to gain acceptance in China for the well-established and validated methods that are available as an alternative to cosmetics testing on animals. We have invited companies to join this campaign whether or not they are already certified under the Humane Cosmetics Standard, so that we can get the broadest possible support for our objective to persuade the Chinese government to remove this barrier to ethical trade.

Both animal protection campaigners and the cosmetics industry are very concerned about the absence of alternatives to animal testing for cosmetics in China, as well as the requirement to do additional testing even for products already tested elsewhere. This puts industry in a difficult position, since many products have been long accepted around the world and companies are reluctant to see further animal testing take place when the products are already known to be safe. However, reports suggest that China is now planning to open the possibility of non-animal alternatives.

In March, at an inaugural meeting at the BUAV offices in London, representatives of leading cosmetics companies met with representatives from the BUAV and the ECEAE to discuss how progress could be made, with the support of the European Commission and Cosmetics Europe in finding a way forward that would meet the concerns of all sides. The productive meeting reached agreement on a number of ways to pursue the issue in partnership and it is hoped to have significant progress to report later this year.

For more information click here.

From Beyond BRICs:

The completion this week of an €830m acquisition by Russia’s Eurochem of the Dutch fertiliser operations of BASF, the German chemicals combine, highlights the growing interest of EM companies in buying assets in the developed world.

Even though it coincides with developed-world chemicals groups making acquisitions in EMs, there is a clear logic to these deals: access to technology and markets and the establishment of closer links with developed-world regulators. As Fitch, the credit ratings agency, says, there are more such transactions in the pipeline.

Fitch said in a note on Wednesday it saw “chemical assets in mature markets attracting increasing interest from emerging market (EM) producers, mirroring Western European producers’ ongoing expansion drive into high growth markets.”

Myriam Affri, a director in Fitch’s industrial team, told beyondbrics: “Emerging-market companies are moving downstream and looking to increase their technological content. we are going to see an acceleration in the move towards international markets.”

Recent acquisitions follow on the heels of many joint ventures, for example those involving China’s Sinochem and Sinopec, and Indian state-run enterprises such as the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative and Southern Petro-chemicals Industries Corporation.

As the Eurochem deal shows, Russian fertiliser companies are looking abroad after a period of intense consolidation at home which saw the creation of big groups, headed by Uralkali.

Eurochem is controlled by billionaire Andrei Melnichenko who also owns almost 10 per cent of K+S, a German salt and fertiliser producer and former BASF subsidiary.

Fitch lists other important deals and near-deals headed by the failed $12bn bid in 2009 by India’s Reliance Industries for Dutch-based LlyondellBasell (2009).

Successful transactions include Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company’s $2.3bn acquisition of US-based Nova Chemicals Corporation in 2009;  China Bluestar Group’s $2.2bn acquisition of Norway’s Elkem (2011); and Thailand-based Indorama’s $795m acquisition of US-based Old World Industries (2012).

Sinochem last year withdrew a $2.3bn bid for Australia’s Nufarm.

Fitch says leading EM chemicals producers are hungry for international action as they complete costly multi-year domestic investment programmes.

More information can be found here.

From: Business Green

The European Parliament has approved new rules that will require washing powders and dishwasher detergents to become almost phosphorus-free, in a move designed to protect river and marine habitats and wildlife.

The Parliament voted through the new package of regulations last week by 631 votes to 18, with four abstentions. The European Council is now expected to approve the rules, allowing them to become EU law.

Under the new standards, from June 2013 a dose of washing powder must not contain more than 0.5 grams of phosphorus….Meanwhile, dishwasher detergents will have to meet a phosphorus limit of 0.3 grams per dose by 1 January 2017.

Click on the links for more information.

The 17th revised edition of the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (ie Model Regulations or the UNRoTDG) is now available online in English and French.

http://live.unece.org/trans/danger/publi/unrec/rev17/17files_e.html

This document, the Orange Book, is a non-binding framework of transport regulations and not an officially enforced international or regional law. The transport carrier agencies do use it as a guide for their legally binding regulations for air/land/sea/regional DG transportation (eg US DOT, TC/TDG, ADR/RID, IATA/ICAO, IMO/IMDG, etc.) but can and do deviate from it.

From: Occupational Health and Safety

The 20th meeting of the UNECE Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, also known as GHS, will take place Dec. 7-9, 2010, in Geneva. While a detailed agenda has not yet been completed, the preliminary agenda indicates a U.S. expert may present an analysis requested by the sub-committee in mid-2009 of practices and regulations in place for combustible dust.

Dec. 1, 2010, is also significant because it is the first of two phase-in implementation deadlines  for REACH and the date when companies in the European Union must apply CLP, the new European Regulation on Classification, Labelling and Packaging, to chemical substances.

At the Geneva meeting, Australia is scheduled to present a final report summarizing the GHS classification lists maintained by each country, their plans for lists to support GHS implementation, how various sectors in different countries use classification lists now, and what future needs there are for such lists.

We will keep you informed of any regulatory changes regarding the upcoming implementation of GHS.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: REACH compliance, GHS SDS authoring, SDS authoring

From: United Nations Secretariat

The Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals held its nineteenth session from 30 June to 2 July 2010, with Ms. Kim Headrick (Canada) as Chairperson and Mr. Thomas Gebel (Germany) and Mrs. Elsie Snyman (South Africa) as vice-chairpersons.

The report highlights updates to the third revised edition of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), including physical, health and environmental hazards. It also discusses attendance at the session, and hazardous communication issues. Finally it discusses the implementation of the GHS, stating current implementation issues and reports on the status of implementation.

Reports such as these are released twice and year and are available at: UNECE

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: REACH compliance, GHS SDS authoring, SDS authoring

From The Dake Page:

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, Finland, is working hard to get prepared for the expected onslaught of registration dossiers that will be submitted in 2010. ECHA is putting some contingency plans into place as the first deadline for registrations – for high volume and high hazard chemicals – comes due on November 30, 2010.

…Companies have been working hard for the last 2 years trying to get organized and coordinate with other companies that manufacture or import the same chemicals into Europe.

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: REACH compliance, GHS SDS authoring, SDS authoring

From UNITAR’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals page – the Report of the Twelfth PAG Meeting. Keeping up-to-date on these is vital in understand the direction GHS-implementation is moving in all over the world. A PDF of the report is available here.

Nexreg has more information on GHS at the following links:

• GHS Strategic Planning (English)
• 全球统一制度战略规划 (Chinese – Simplified)
• Planification stratégique SGH (French)
• 化学品の分類と調和に関する世界調和システム (GHS) 戦略的計画 (Japanese)
• GHS 전략 기획 (Korean)
• Planificación Estratégica de GHS (Spanish)

To speak to a Nexreg representative about how GHS or REACH will impact your company, please call or e-mail Nexreg at:

Nexreg Toll Free: 1-866-361-3032
E-mail:info@nexreg.com

An article on Occupational Hazards disscusses OSHA and GHS. It says in part:

In the new agenda, OSHA said the agency would submit a complete peer review of economic analysis on OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard by November 2007, but evidently this action has been delayed. The issue of implementing a Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) has been of importance to both large global companies and to OSHA, as it admitted, “U.S. manufacturers, employers and employees will be at a disadvantage in the event that our system of hazard communication is not compliant with the GHS.”

Click on the above link for the full article.

A very short entry on how REACH and GHS are impacting one company:

Two new chemical regulations, REACH and GHS, will enter into force in 2008, to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the harmful effects of chemicals.

REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) applies to manufacturers and importers of substances placed on the European market above 1 ton per year.

The GHS (Globally Harmonized System of Classification, Labelling and designing of Safety Data Sheets of Chemicals) will apply worldwide. The GHS is included into REACH. Under these regulations the burden of the “no risk” proof is now for the producers and importers of chemicals.

The challenges for ArcelorMittal are to ensure the relevancy and consistency of the toxicological and ecotoxicological data provided to the European Chemicals Agency as well as to comply with the huge compulsory registration process, which will induce high registration fees and testing costs. Since June an Implementation Platform and the ArcelorMittal REACH & GHS Implementation Task Force have been set up.

Nexreg has more information on GHS at the following links:

• GHS Strategic Planning (English)
• 全球统一制度战略规划 (Chinese – Simplified)
• Planification stratégique SGH (French)
• 化学品の分類と調和に関する世界調和システム (GHS) 戦略的計画 (Japanese)
• GHS 전략 기획 (Korean)
• Planificación Estratégica de GHS (Spanish)

To speak to a Nexreg representative about how GHS or REACH will impact your company, please call or e-mail Nexreg at:

Nexreg Toll Free: 1-866-361-3032
Nexreg Canada: (519)488-5126 (London, ON)
Nexreg UK: +44 020 7993 5893 (London, UK)
Nexreg USA: (206)418-6663 (Seattle, WA)
E-mail:info@nexreg.com