What is going on regarding the EU Restriction regarding Diisocyanates

About diisocyanates and polyurethanes

Together with polyols, diisocyanates are the essential building blocks of polyurethanes, a plastic material used in a multitude of everyday objects and applications.

EU-REACH

EU Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) aims at improving the protection of human health and the environment from potential risks from chemical substances; whilst ensuring the EU chemicals industry’s global competitiveness is maintained.

ECHA organises consultations to get feedback from all interested parties and to gather the widest possible range of scientific information for the regulatory processes as the one followed for REACH.

The Restriction on diisocyanates under the EU’s REACH Regulation published recently in the EU Official Journal introduces new minimum training requirements for workers handling diisocyanates and mixtures containing diisocyanates. This is an important step to enhance and harmonise the level of protection of workers using diisocyanates across the EU and affects only inside EU professionals and industrial users.

The Restriction will apply from 24 August 2023 after a transition period of three years, and all industry-associations are developing a comprehensive package of training materials for the industrial and professional value chains.

Organisations as ISOPA are already announcing that on 1st November 2021 they will launch an online training platform starting in English and on 1st December 2021 in German which will be accessible in the entire EU. Quite soon all remaining EU languages will be added on the platform.

The EU REACH Restriction process for diisocyanates started in 2016 when the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) submitted a proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). ECHA delivered its opinion to the European Commission in 2018 on the measure, finding that mandatory training is the most appropriate, protective and effective EU-wide risk management measure to reduce occupational asthma cases among workers who deal with diisocyanates.

Take care