Jun 27 2008
Today, the brominated flame retardant industry releases its third Annual Report on the Voluntary Emissions Control Action Programme (VECAP). The key findings in the report are:
- Today, around 90% of packaging residues of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are effectively controlled in Europe, via regulated and controlled disposal;
- Direct air and water process emissions of Deca-BDE are reducing throughout Europe in both the plastics and textile sectors;
- VECAP has implemented the industry’s obligations under REACH to engage downstream users in the management of chemicals.
VECAP was initiated in 2004 by the European industry sector comprising FR manufacturers and their user chain in the plastics and textile sectors. This innovative program aims to increase awareness and understanding of chemicals management throughout the supply chain. “This report shows that by pro-actively applying housekeeping rules and best practices which are simple and low-cost, industry can contribute to an efficient management of chemicals throughout the supply chain” – says Dr. Veronique Steukers, Chair of EBFRIP (the organization of European manufacturers of brominated flame retardants). “VECAP is a front-runner program for our industry which is achieving important results. We believe VECAP could be an example to follow for other industries in terms of chemicals management”.
The VECAP program has rapidly evolved from being simply a tool to control emissions during the handling and use of brominated flame retardants to becoming a system to manage chemicals in the workplace which can be applied to a far wider range of processes and raw materials.
During 2007 the focus of VECAP has been to address specifically levels of residues left during handling, cleaning and disposal of used packaging. In the past year our industry has pro-actively introduced and promoted best practice beyond existing legislation to manage these potential sources of emission. This has been done by making direct contact with customers and waste management companies to raise awareness on this packaging waste as well as by developing specific best practice techniques and good housekeeping rules to assure minimal waste generation during processing and materials handling.
From its initial European focus, the program is currently also being implemented in the USA, Canada and Japan, with a significant part of the customer chain committed to the program. For example in North America, 79% of Deca-BDE users and 60% of the TBBPA users have already committed to VECAP. After the launch in January 2007 of the program in Japan, significant progress has been achieved and 88% of HBCD users are now committed to VECAP.
The success and progress that has already been achieved by the participants to VECAP throughout the supply chain demonstrate the chemical industry’s commitment to applying and pro-actively promoting the safe and environmentally friendly use of its products.