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Feature article - What are you DUIN?

A key deadline for UK REACH is coming this month. Andrew Warmington reports from ChemUK 2021

Not surprisingly, UK REACH was one of the big topics at the panel discussions and individual presentations given at the ChemUK show, which took place at the NEC near Birmingham on 15-16 September. UK REACH came into force on 1 January, the day after the UK left the EU.

PFAS Movement now has 50 members: ChemSec

Swedish-based NGO ChemSec has revealed that over 50 companies have joined the corporate PFAS Movement that it launched a little over a year ago. Three US companies, Naturepedic, Seventh Generation and Beautycounter, are among those who are now part of it, alongside the mainly European membership.

ECHA publishes first SCIP data

ECHA has published the first database of substances of very high concern in products (SCIP) in the EU. This aims to enable consumers “to make more informed purchasing choices and help waste operators to further develop the re-use of articles and the recycling of materials,” the agency said.

Greening SPPS with Bachem

Bachem, the world’s largest peptides manufacturer, has announced some results of two studies it carried out with Novo Nordisk, seeking to make solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) greener.

SPPS requires large volumes of solvents and the current gold standards, because of their excellent solubilisation and stability properties for reagents and resin swelling capabilities, are N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dichloromethane and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. All now face restrictions under REACH because of their hazardous nature.

Nippon Shokubai goes green

Nippon Shokubai has established a new Green Innovation department within the Innovation & Business Development division. This, the company said, will integrate sustainable projects with research planning and development organisations related to energy and resource use. Its key responsibilities are to develop:

* Manufacturing methods from bio-based raw materials of the firm’s core products of acrylic acid and ethylene oxide

* CO2 capture and conversion technology

* New technologies for ammonia manufacturing and utilisation

PFAS claims in Delaware settled

DuPont and the companies that used to be part of it, Chemours and Corteva, have reached a settlement with the Delaware Department of Justice. Under this, they are held responsible for decades of damage done to Delaware’s environment by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs).

The agreement has avoided a potential lawsuit for historic contamination by PFASs in Delaware, which remains DuPont’s headquarters. This had impacted waterways and groundwater located in each of the state’s three counties.

UK distributors hit by driver shortages

UK distributors hit by driver shortage The Chemical Business Association (CBA), which represents chemical distributors and logistics services providers in the UK, has again highlighted the chronic shortage of HGV drivers since Brexit. This, they said in a letter to the Secretaries of State for Transport and Business “has reached a critical point for the UK chemical supply chain”.

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