The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalised a ban on most uses of methylene chloride (MCL) via a ‘final action’ under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Consumer use will be phased out within a year, and most industrial and commercial uses within two.

Dr Ilham Kadri, CEO of Syensqo, has succeeded BASF’s Dr. Martin Brudermueller as president of CEFIC. In accepting the position, she described this as “a pivotal moment for Europe and Europeans, industry at large and the European chemical industry itself. “I therefore very much look forward to supporting the next generation of European politicians and the new European Commission leadership. If I can relate one message already right now – go vote in June! It is crucial,” Kadri added.

At its Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference on 7 May, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) released a new report, entitled ‘Sustainability Starts with Chemistry’, in order, it said “to highlight the crucial role the chemical industry plays in advancing sustainability progress around the globe”.

Swiss fine chemicals company CABB sustained a leak of acetyl chloride from a production building at its Pratteln site near Basel (pictured) on 26 April. The reasons and the amount involved have not yet been established and are currently being investigated, the company said.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken two separate actions on per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), both being part of its PFAS strategic roadmap, which aims to implement legislation by Q4 to reduce and destroy PFAS contamination in water, air and soil.

Under the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, the agency has laid down new standards with legally enforceable maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) on five individual PFAS. These are more stringent than previously mooted limits:

The first joint Europe-wide assessment of the drivers and impact of chemical pollution by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has concluded that, despite progress in some areas, “more work is still needed to reduce the impact of harmful substances on human health and the environment”. Key findings include:

* The transition towards safer and more sustainable chemicals is progressing in some areas but just getting started in others

CEFIC has published ‘Safe and Sustainable by-Design (SSbD): A Guidance to Unleash the Transformative Power of Innovation’. The guidance can be accessed on the association website

This is based on insights from the chemical industry and bodies such as European Commission and its Joint Research Centre, the OECD, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. It offers specific activities for different phases of industrial R&D to help the industry move towards “a sustainable, circular, and inclusive economy” by 2050.