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February 2005
Hard work ahead as metals sector stalls at the fence
Confusion and chaos marked last month's start to the European
Parliament's consideration of the REACH chemicals legislation.
The metals industry needs to pull its act together if it is
to get its points across to legislators...
In a somewhat chaotic start last month to the European Parliament's
consideration of the European chemicals legislation known
as REACH, the broad grouping of the inorganic materials sector
failed to gain representation at the Parliament's public meeting,
whereas the organic sector was comparatively well represented.
However, Parliamentary deliberations of the complex issues
involved are likely to take the rest of this year and may
spread into 2006.
Peter Brewin, the European Powder Metallurgy Association's
technical director says that for the metals sector in general,
lobbying of MEPs will become a very important core activity,
as will industry representation via organisations like the
Metals Forum. This is an informal alliance between Eurométaux
(non-ferrous metals sector), Eurofer, (iron and steel sector)
and EIMAG (metallic alloys sector) set up to represent the
interests of the metals sectors in relation to the REACH proposal.
The Metals Forum last month issued a statement setting out
some of its concerns. In REACH, it said, the term "chemicals"
covers all substances. The biggest industry affected by REACH
is the EU inorganic substances industry, which at around three
billion tonnes plus per annum uses about 10 times the volume
of substances used by the organic sector, which is usually
understood to be the EU "chemicals industry".
"The metals and alloys industry is one of the biggest
EU inorganic industries, and is the EU inorganic industry
most heavily affected by REACH in its proposed form, said
the Forum.
"While supporting the general principles raised by UNICE
(the European employers group), the Metals Forum's principal
metal-specific concerns focus on very specific characteristics
of the metals industry that require proper recognition to
understand the impact and consequences of REACH.
"Metals are natural materials meaning that the composition
of the origin materials (minerals, ores, concentrates) is
established by nature and cannot be changed. Metals are also
internationally traded commodities whose base selling price
is effectively equal everywhere in the world, restricting
the ability of EU industry to pass on any costs associated
with REACH.
"In the wider EU policy perspective, metals and alloys
play vital roles in several key policy objectives related
to sustainable development and competitiveness - eg long life
products, infinitely recyclable without quality loss, efficient
resource use and internationally competitive, value-adding,
businesses. There is evidence that in its present form, REACH
will act against these wider policy objectives, at least as
far as metals and alloys are concerned."
Turning its guns on the authors of the legislation, the European
commission, the Metals Forum says: "In its considerations
to date, the Commission appears to have made the assumption
that the industry most affected by REACH is the organic chemical
industry. Almost all the REACH improvements proposed by the
inorganic industry, including metals and alloys industry,
have been ignored.
"We hope that Members of the European Parliament will
recognise the importance of REACH to the inorganic substances
industry and give due time to considerations of our proposals."
The Forum summarises its principal metal-specific concerns
and suggested improvements in a limited number of specific
key issues:
• Minerals, ores and concentrates, the naturally occurring
raw materials of our industry, are in the current scope of
REACH. Because of the peculiarities of nature, use of most
of them will require registration, and many authorisation.
These naturally occurring inorganic raw materials should be
treated in the same way as organic naturally occurring materials
(crude oil, gas) and be excluded from REACH.
• Secondary raw materials, which are the feedstock
for the very efficient EU metals recycling industry to produce
new metals of equal quality as produced from ores, appear
to be in the scope of REACH. And again, use of many of them
will require authorisation. This will result in less recycling,
more export of these valuable sources to countries with lower
environmental and workers protection standards, consequently
resulting in a less competitive EU recycling industry.
• Alloys and metals are used predominantly (well over
90 per cent) in the massive form. To apply the full requirements
of REACH to such uses would result in workload and cost burdens
that are totally disproportionate to the very low risks that
such uses pose to man and the environment.
• Volume-based prioritisation penalises the high volume
EU metals and alloys industry and is no indication of risk.
In essence we will have three years to do everything, leading
to a much distorted use of scarce resources - human as well
as financial - and threatening the workability of the system.
• REACH should not adopt an ideological approach to
substitution. For metals and alloys, the development of substitutes
is a very complex and specialised activity.
It is essential that this reality be recognised in REACH.
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