11 December 2009: Plastics Exposure Scenario Team and Use Mapping

Programme

Time	Topic	Speaker
10:00	Introduction to the Plastics Exposure Scenario Team (PEST) Project	Walter Claes
10:20	Presentation of the PEST Communication Tool / Use Mapping and Generic Exposure Scenarios	Geoffroy Tillieux
11:00	The EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) Regulation and its consequences on Plastics Recyclers	Walter Claes
11:20	Questions & Answers

Speakers

		Walter Claes Mr. Claes studied Economics at the University of Antwerp and Business Administration at INSEAD, Fontainebleau. He worked for Solvay for 35 years in chemicals and plastics processing sales- and marketing management and as a Company General Manager. In 2002 he was seconded to EuPC focusing on EU Environmental Policy.				Geoffroy Tillieux Engineer graduated in Finance (Solvay Business School, ULB) and in Production (Darden Business School MBA, University of Virginia). EuPC Head of the Technical Department. Expert in the European Food Contact Legislation. Secretary of the EuPC Raw Materials Committee. Project manager and research coordinator in risk assessments and other technical issues.

About PEST

'PEST is a cooperation of the plastic supply chain with the most important associations representing additive manufacturers/importers, compounders, masterbatchers, plastics converters and plastics producers.

PEST first objective is to cope with the challenge of article 37 of REACH and the efficient management of the information flow.
Uncontrolled and heterogeneous communication would create indeed unnecessary work and be counterproductive.
By the end of October 2009, PEST will provide instructions to plastics converting companies in order to identify their uses to their suppliers as part of a generic, unified and standardized industry approach. It was agreed that this would be done through a public website which will be online early November enabling bottom up communication when necessary. Top down communication on the applications identified is already undertaken by some additive suppliers, polymer producers and compounders and masterbatchers and will accelerate in the course of October with the support of PEST.

The first task of PEST is to map most end applications, processes and substances used in the industry. By this mapping PEST is also translating obscure and very generic REACH Use Descriptors into common converter language. It is foreseen that only a limited number of unique or niche uses would not be considered in the scope of this project.

Until that time expanding and validating a standardized list of uses is key for ensuring an efficient, cost and time effective communication in the supply chain. Companies are therefore invited to contact their National or Sectoral association in order to make sure that the appropriate input will be provided during this mapping exercise.

The second objective of PEST is to support member companies in a successful registration of their products. PEST is therefore working, with financial and manpower support on developing Generic Exposure Scenarios under which most of the plastics additives in applications and processes can be considered safe. Those Generic Exposure Scenarios shall be the basis for the manufacturer’s and importer’s registration dossiers to be submitted by 1 December 2010 to the European Chemical Agency for high volume substances (more than 1000 tons) and substances classified as CMR category 1 or 2 or R50/53.
Regular updates of Generic Exposure Scenarios will be made and published. A first publication is foreseen by the end of the 1st quarter 2010 after a data gathering, risk assessment and analysis phase within the industry and with the involvement of key plastics converters.'

Eng. Geoffroy Tillieux, Head of Technical Department EuPC

For more information about PEST please also read the letter of 9 November 2009 from EuPC to its members on the identification of uses of substances intended to be bound in a thermoplastics matrix whether on their own (direct additive use) or in mixtures (in compounds, masterbatches or polymers).
You may download this document and its annexes by clicking on the following links:

Letter
Appendix 1: PEST Member Associations
Appendix 2: List of EuPC members organisations contributing to PEST
Appendix 3: PEST one pager

Presentations

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Start:	11 December 2009, 10:00
Stop:	11 December 2009, 12:00