Background Information Legislation and Testing

Legislation governing the safety in manufacture, processing, use and disposal of plastics products has become a key feature of recent years and, while it is aimed mainly at plastics compounds and products, much legislation necessarily impacts on additives. 

The European situation regarding polybrominated biphenyls and biphenyl oxides (PBBs and PBBOs) has been set out by the European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel (EBFRIP), a Sector Group of the European Chemical Federation (CEFIC). 

The Dutch Ministry of the Environment (VROM) in particular has long been concerned about PBBs and PBBOs and has considered introducing its own legislation, strongly opposed by the Dutch Plastics Federation (NFK) and against evidence by the Dutch National Institute for the Environment (RIVM) that studies of municipal waste incineration did not show any relation between bromine content of disposed waste and formation of brominated dioxins. 

In 1990, the EC Commission carried out a risk analysis which concluded that, although there was a potential for release of furan from incineration of waste. 

At an EC meeting in 1993. all member states (except The Netherlands) expressed their preference for a common EC policy and the Dutch plastics bodies were successful in convincing the Environment Ministry that the original risk 

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