European agency says permitted phthalates are safe in toys

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Commission has concluded that the phthalates in toys and childcare products pose no risk to infants. The findings, which also include adult sex toys, are in line with the conclusions presented last August by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), said Plastics News.

Based on ECHA's assessment, the Commission has concluded that "no unacceptable risk has been characterized for the uses of DINP and DIDP in articles other than toys and childcare articles which can be placed in the mouth." The Commission further concluded that "in the light of the absence of any further risks from the uses of DINP and DIDP, the evaluation of potential substitutes has been less pertinent. DINP and DIDP are therefore safe for use in all current consumer applications."

"The safety and optimal performance of plasticizers is essential for the numerous durable flexible PVC articles being used my millions of Europeans every day. The European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates (ECPI) is confident the Commission's communication will provide reassurance to consumers as well as a stable regulatory environment for companies to continue using these two high phthalates" stated ECPI's manager, Stephane Content.

"Furthermore, DINP and DIDP have proved to be reliable substitutes for the classified low phthalates which are currently undergoing Reach Authorization" he added.

Regarding children, ECHA concluded that "no further risk management measures are needed to reduce the exposure of children to DINP and DIDP." In the case of adults, the bio-monitoring data reviewed by ECHA confirmed that "exposure from food and the indoor environment are not very significant" and, in the case of dermal exposure to DINP and DIDP is "not expected to result in a risk for adults or the developing fetus in pregnant women."
ECHA also indicated that using sex toys containing DINP and DIDP "would not result in any risk." Overall, the European Chemicals Agency concluded that "no further risk management measures are needed to reduce the exposure of adults to DINP and DIDP."

As MRC wrote before, the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA’s) forum for exchange of information on enforcement approved a new project focused on downstream users who formulate mixtures.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries, one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, has reported record results in 2013, led by improvements in global olefins and polyolefins, according to the company's report.

LyondellBasell announced earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2013 of USD1,177 million, or USD2.11 per share. Fourth-quarter 2013 EBITDA was USD1,543 million. Full year 2013 income from continuing operations was USD3,860 million, or USD6.76 per share,

Fourth quarter 2013 EBITDA was relatively unchanged compared to the third quarter of 2013 despite the impact of normal seasonal slowdowns. Income from continuing operations increased relative to the third quarter due to a lower effective tax rate related to the release of reserves against certain European net operating losses (NOLs).

"We achieved record earnings in 2013, capped by the best fourth-quarter results in our history," said CEO Jim Gallogly. "Our performance for the quarter and the year continued a pattern of solid financial results built on our back-to-basics strategy and supplemented with high return growth projects. During the quarter, we completed the methanol restart project at Channelview, Texas. This project and other announced projects focus on capturing additional advantages from US shale gas ahead of our competition," he said.

Regarding the outlook for 2014 Gallogly said: "The fundamentals supporting our businesses have remained strong. The U.S. natural gas liquids advantage continues to evolve in a very positive way, and we are executing our growth projects rapidly to take advantage of these market opportunities. We believe olefins in North America will continue to benefit from strong margins created by cost-advantaged NGLs. We will commence an olefins turnaround at La Porte late in the first quarter which will extend into the second quarter. European olefins and polyolefins demand should improve from a seasonally-low fourth quarter."

As MRC wrote previously, LyondellBasell is working to cash in on the US shale gas advantage by working "cheaper and faster" than competitors, opting in most cases to focus on expansions and debottlenecking projects over building new facilities.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 58 sites in 18 countries. The company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, is receiving support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for further research and development (R&D) in the field of plastic raw materials, i.e. polymers, said the producer in its press release.

With a long-term EUR150 million loan, the EU bank is helping to finance product innovation in the area of advanced polymers. The two parties signed the loan contract on January 28, 2014 in Luxembourg.

With this loan, the EIB is supporting Borealis’ multi-annual investment programme at the company’s innovation headquarters in Austria as well as in Finland and Sweden where it has other innovation centres. The project focuses primarily on product innovation in the area of advanced polymers. In addition, the funds will be used to finance the firm’s vocational training programme.

Borealis is receiving this loan under a financing programme implemented jointly by the EIB and the European Commission. This so-called Risk-Sharing Finance Facility is an innovative instrument for sharing credit risks. It is aimed at improving access to external financing for private companies and public institutions promoting projects presenting a high financial risk in the fields of R&D, demonstration and innovation. The financing of R&D is one of the EIB’s top priorities. In the past year alone, its total lending in this area amounted to EUR 15.6 billion.

As MRC wrote before, Borealis and Borouge, the world's leading providers of innovative, value-creating solutions for the wire and cable industry, has announced the dedicated roll-out of the technology platform Borlink in Russia. Borlink was introduced by Borealis and Borouge as a technology platform offering a complete global package of power cable compounds and expertise serving applications for medium and high voltage (MV, HV), including extra high voltage (EHV) and high voltage direct current (HVDC).

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,200 and operates in over 120 countries. It generated EUR 7.5 billion in sales revenue in 2012. The International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi owns 64% of the company, with the remaining 36% owned by OMV, the leading energy group in the European growth belt. Borealis provides services and products to customers around the world in collaboration with Borouge, a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hong Kong Petrochemical is in plans to shut a polystyrene (PS) plant, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Hong Kong informed that the plant is planned to be shut on February 10, 2014for maintenance turnaround. It is likely to remain off-stream for around 10 days.

Located in Yuen Long Industrial Estate, Hong Kong, the plant has a high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) capacity of 70,000 mt/year each.

As MRC wrote before, PS Japan Corp is in plans to shut its PS plant for maintenance. The company operates two PS lines at Chiba in Japan with production capacities of 200,000 mt/year and 45,000 mt/year, respectively. The company is likely to undertake a maintenance turnaround at the smaller plant in March 2014. The shutdown is expected to remain period of around one month.

Besides, Japanese petrochemical producer - Taiyo Vinyl Corp., a subsidiary of Tosoh Group, is in plans to shut its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant for maintenance in July 2014 for a period of about one month. Located at Osaka in Japan, the PVC plant has a production capacity of 170,000 mt/year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, the leading producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the world's leading biopolymer producer, will launch the unprecedented use of green plastic in wine bottle closures made by Nomacorc, the leading U.S. company in the segment, said Braskem in its press release.

Called Select Bio, the closures are 100% recyclable and feature the same oxygen management performance as the conventional line, while also preventing deterioration and waste caused by processes such as oxidation and reduction. In this case, the green plastic works as an efficient drop-in replacement for cork, a material provided by special trees that can take up to decades to grow.

Braskem's "I'm greenTM Polyethylene" is made from ethylene derived from sugarcane ethanol. Its main advantage is that it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, since it sequesters carbon dioxide during its production process. It also features the same properties as traditional polyethylene, which means that manufacturers do not have to change their machinery and that it can be recycled. To help consumers recognize the green plastic, Braskem created the "I'm greenTM" seal, which guarantees the renewable origin of the packaging.

"Braskem is a strong organization with a history of creating reliable, sustainable polymer materials for leading manufacturers around the world," said Olav Aagaard, Nomacorc's principal scientist. "By using Braskem's sugarcane based green polyethylene, we can confidently offer to our customers a carbon neutral wine closure which will not only be consistent and optimal for their wines, but now also allows them to create a more sustainable packaging solution."

As MRC wrote before, Tecnaro , which specializes in biocompounds, signed a contract with Braskem for a new line of Green PE applications.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
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