| EHS Regulatory News | August 2003
1. Enhancements to the Responsible Care Initiative Guides Chemical Industry Performance
2. Germany to Ask 5,000 Plants for CO2 Emissions Data
3. Draft Chemicals Legislation May Impact Producers and Users
4. Bisphenol A under Review for Proposition 65 Listing
Enhancements to the Responsible Care Initiative Guide Chemical Industry Performance
Responsible Care is a voluntary industry initiative driven by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The initiative functions to guide the industry’s performance beyond levels required by the United States government, by addressing issues such as the safety and well-being of employees and communities, enhanced security, environmental quality, and consumer protection. To follow through on its commitment to the Responsible Care initiative, the chemical industry must continue to set new goals for performance. As a result, this year the ACC has adopted a number of enhancements to Responsible Care.
To measure their progress and performance, the ACC has developed Responsible Care Performance Measures, a set of metrics that allow industry and the public to track an individual company and see how they ‘measure up’ to their own goals and their peers.
Additional enhancements to the initiative include the development of the Responsible Care Management System (RCMS). The RCMS allows companies to assess their needs, get input from the public, and set performance goals. Until recently, Responsible Care progress was guided by a set of codes, or management practices. The RCMS was developed to replace these codes as a simple ‘plan-do-check-act’ framework to measure industry-wide performance, while still providing flexibility to the needs of individual companies. Key components to the new RCMS include the following:
- A mandatory certification by a third party;
- Improved focus on security through the implementation of the Care Security Code; and
- A Partnership Program to extend benefits to companies outside of the membership.
The ACC regularly hosts Responsible Care workshops for industry members to learn more about the initiative and new performance goals. For more information on the ACC and upcoming workshops, log onto www.americanchemistry.com.
Germany to Ask 5,000 Plants for CO2 Emissions Data
The European Union’s (EU’s) ‘Emissions Trading Scheme’ was recently finalized in July 2003. The trading scheme was developed to manage and allocate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions credits between industrial plants in Germany. The country will be asking up to 5,000 industrial plants (many of which are energy, oil refining, and smelting companies) to provide data to the government on how much CO2 they have emitted. The plants will be asked to correct any previously incorrect data held by the government for the 2000 reporting year, and provide additional figures for the years 2001 and 2002.
The emissions trading scheme is international and the first of its kind. This scheme is the centerpiece of the EU’s efforts to meet its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions that many scientists believe are contributing to global warming. Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol (a United Nations pact), the EU is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 8% of 1990 levels, between 2008 and 2012.
Draft Chemicals Legislation May Impact Producers and Users
In May 2003, the European Commission published a 1,200-page draft Chemicals Legislation that proposes a complete overhaul of the regulatory system. The draft legislation was published for Internet consultation, scheduled to close on 10 July 2003.
Key elements of the draft proposal include the following:
- A general Duty of Care that will be placed on all actors in the chemical value chain to ensure that products do not adversely affect human health and the environment;
- A complete reform of the current regulatory system for managing chemicals within the EU, called the REACH system (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization of Chemicals); and
- The establishment of a New European Chemicals Agency to manage REACH.
The proposal contains both opportunities and threats to chemical producers and downstream users. Benefits to the new draft include the opportunity to show the safety of products and allay public concerns, the provision of a set of overall principles that fit with sustainable development goals, and the possibility of building consortia with other actors.
Aspects of the draft proposal that may seem to have a negative impact on businesses include the obligation to compile safety reports and communicate information up and down the supply chain, additional costs associated with fulfilling information demands, and added concerns over intellectual property rights on test data.
Other jurisdictions, including the United States, are moving ahead with similar stringent chemical regimes. The draft proposal is being driven by a desire for industry to improve its public image and protect human health and the environment from risks posed by the use of chemicals in industry.
Bisphenol A under Review for Proposition 65 Listing
According to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) a review of research studies is currently underway to determine if the chemical Bisphenol A is a reproductive toxicant, under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, also known as Proposition 65. Bisphenol A is a widely used chemical in the plastics industry that became a candidate for the State Proposition 65 listing in 1997.
Information pertaining to Proposition 65 chemicals can be found on the OEHHA website at www.oehha.org.
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