DECEMBER 2024

Dear Reader,

2024 was a year particularly dear to me, as we celebrated the 20 years of Formacare.

20 years of partnership among the EU formaldehyde producing industry. 20 years of building an impeccable reputation of our industry towards regulators and stakeholders. 20 years of regulatory success which would not have been possible without great members and a solid leadership in the Executive Committee of Formacare.

FORMACARE UPDATES

Forecast in 2025 – A look at the key priorities of Formacare in the year to come

Concluding for 2024, we would like to share with you a few insights about the year to come and what may most likely be the top priorities of Formacare in 2025:

• With more details coming up in the following article, Formacare will continue to work on the sustainability of formaldehyde products. In late 2023, the group set up a Sustainability Task Force which brought new experts into our meetings. We look forward to counting on them for the next steps.
• The assessment of whether melamine should be recommended for authorisation will continue in 2025. Interestingly, ECHA has proposed to review the criteria leading to whether a substance should be or not prioritised. Formacare via Cefic has welcomed such a process, especially if it leads to a more pragmatic approach to authorisation and taking into account other initiatives on chemical safety under other regulatory instruments or regulations.
• Looking at France, the European formaldehyde industry and its downstream users remain concerned about the recent opinion of Anses concluding that formaldehyde may cause myeloid leukaemia. The industry will remain at the disposal of the French authorities for further constructive discussions in 2025 (read our reaction to the Anses report in November 2023)
• Another matter worth to mention is the recent re-prioritisation of formaldehyde for an assessment of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Formacare would like to reassure its industry partners that the existing EU legislation on formaldehyde remains the pinnacle regulation ensuring safety for workers and consumers alike.
• Lastly, Formacare will continue to follow the ongoing formaldehyde risk assessment in the US, in coordination with our peer-colleagues from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) panel for formaldehyde.

Formacare initiates work on the sustainability of formaldehyde production

A “première” for Formacare!

In 2024, Formacare started to work on the sustainable performance of the formaldehyde production. This topic became a key priority for the industry group in view of several ongoing legislation being designed to address the carbon footprint and sustainability perspective of products and chemicals (although it is fair to add that Formacare members have not waited to take action in this matter).

This year, this work resulted in the issuing of a guidance for Formacare members to support their approach to differentiated analytical methods to establish the carbon footprint of the formaldehyde they produce.

A general conclusion is that the production of formaldehyde brings much added value in terms of CO2 reduction, notably thanks to the excess energy coming out of the reaction which can be captured and therefore not wasted. The further chemical products which are made out of formaldehyde can also benefit from this.

As stated in the previous article, there is much work still to achieve in this regard before Formacare would be in a capacity to communicate more. That is one of our missions for 2025!

ADVOCACY UPDATES

Formaldehyde restriction – ECHA postpones the working calendar on the guidance

Since it was initiated in the early 2024, Formacare has been supportive of the development of an ECHA guidance aiming at clarifying the technical aspects of ensuring compliance with the EU REACH formaldehyde restriction adopted in 2023. (Read our reaction to the adoption of the restriction.)

Notably, this support took the form of the nomination of two experts of Formacare joining the ECHA ‘Product Expert Group’ (PEG) and addressing the specificities of materials testing for amino resins and POM. This was also followed by a 1st contribution of Formacare in May 2024, and a participation of the experts at an ECHA webinar organised in June.

As we were waiting however for a new version of the draft guidance in the course of Q4 2024, members of the PEG were informed that the process is delayed, with no further clarity on the new calendar.

Formacare had requested for the confirmation that a 2nd webinar would be organised as much details remain to be addressed for the testing of all products. Our experts remain at the disposal of ECHA to continue the process leading to more clarity for all operators concerned with the testing of products for formaldehyde emissions and therefore compliance with the EU restriction.

CASE STUDIES

New insights about another formidable formaldehyde products – Check out our video about polyoxymethylene (POM)

Concluding on a set of 4 videos started in 2023 and showcasing benefits and key applications of formaldehyde and formaldehyde derivatives, we are proud to share with you an overview of POM.

POM, which comes by many names such as polyoxymethylene, polyacetal, or again polyformaldehyde, is a thermoplastic made out of formaldehyde. It offered many excellent properties such as high stiffness, low friction, and excellent dimensional stability. This makes POM an excellent material for small, precision parts, which require strength, flexibility and light weight.

POM can be found in many places, from automotives to home appliances and medical devices. Did you know for instance that POM parts are used in the production of insulin syringes?

Care to know more? Follow the link below, and do not forget to take a look at our other videos, available on our YouTube page!

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