November 18, 1999

US Producers Challenge European Union's Proposed Restrictions on Nonylphenol Ethoxylates

Council Urges Better Pollution Prevention Instead of Bans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — US chemical producers have sharply criticized a draft proposal by the European Union (EU) that would ban many uses of nonylphenol ethoxylates, a commodity surfactant used worldwide in many cleaning products and industrial processes.

At an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expert meeting to review risk management measures related to nonylphenol ethoxylates, Bob Fensterheim, Executive Director of the Alkylphenols & Ethoxylates Research Council, criticized a draft EU risk assessment on nonylphenol and challenged the OECD to "refrain from promoting" bans on chemicals that can be controlled through pollution prevention methods.

"The proposal for this meeting states that socio-economic analysis in the development of risk management options is one of the pillars of the OECD risk management program," Fensterheim said. "The EU's own Technical Guidance Document on Development of Risk Reduction Strategies states that a risk reduction strategy 'should aim to reduce the risks which need to be limited while imposing the minimum necessary burdens on society as a whole'."

Fensterheim pointed out that the draft EU strategy document on risk reduction measures acknowledged that the integrated pollution prevention and control directive could reduce potential risks of nonylphenol in many use areas to what the EU described as "acceptable levels." "Product bans are inappropriate risk management measures in cases where effective methods of pollution prevention and control have been demonstrated," said Fensterheim.

Fensterheim argued that pollution prevention results in measurable environmental improvements while product bans simply substitute one chemical for another. Adopting the pollution prevention option under the EU system would lead to tangible improvements in treatment and disposal of NPEs, Fensterheim pointed out. "These benefits should not be underestimated for they would apply to all chemicals used at a facility… [rather] than merely substituting [NPEs with] chemicals of unknown and potentially greater toxicity."

Participants at the OECD expert meeting reviewed the substantial differences between US and EU approaches to risk assessment and risk management for nonylphenol ethoxylates. Under the US EPA risk assessment (RM1) process, the EPA concluded that nonylphenol does not pose a significant risk to aquatic organisms. EPA based its conclusion on actual monitoring data from US waters. The EU risk assessment, which based its risk assessment on default assumptions and models that in some cases predict totally unrealistic exposures, concluded that nearly all uses of nonylphenol ethoxylates present a significant risk to aquatic organisms. Based on this methodology, the EU has proposed banning various major uses of nonylphenol ethoxylates.

The OECD expert meeting, the first of its kind, was designed to provide a mechanism for the 29 OECD member states to share information on risk management approaches. Despite the marked differences in approaches, Fensterheim noted that the meeting should provide a foundation for greater cooperation between the various OECD countries.

The Alkylphenols & Ethoxylates Research Council, based in Washington, DC, is composed of producers, processors, users and raw material suppliers of alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates. The organization sponsors research, monitors regulatory issues and communicates the findings of new research, regulatory developments and other relevant information to industry, government and the media.

In addition to chemical producers, government representatives from the US, Canada, Japan, the EU, Belgium, France, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK participated in the three-day meeting, held last week in Geneva. For more information, please contact the APE Research Council.

# # #                                                                                                                              

 

Site Map   ·   Feedback/Contact Us   ·   Members Only