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Event ‘REACH and Raw Materials: Achieving Europe’s Green Deal goals together’ on October 17 in Brussels
11 September 2023
The EPMF and Eurometaux are inviting you to join our event on REACH revision. Together with the panellists from European Commission, industry and civil society we will be discussing:
– how can the revised REACH regulation provide more certainty and environmental protection together for Europe’s raw materials investment agenda?
– where should practical actions be taken to improve coherence between the EU’s chemicals and raw materials policy actions?
– where will Europe’s clean energy supply chains now need to act to demonstrate and improve their control of risks across the lifecycle?
The event will be followed by a light lunch and networking. Please register here and we are looking forward to seeing you there!
France Capon nominated as Vice-Chair of the Chemicals Committee at BIAC
14 June 2023
The EPMF Secretary General France Capon was nominated as Vice-Chair of the Chemicals Committee of Business at OECD (BIAC). The BIAC’s Chemicals Committee enables private sector access to a wide range of OECD activities on chemical management and safety. It also contributes to the development of policies and instruments for chemical testing and assessment, fosters information exchange, and provides a framework for private sector exchanges.
We wish France all the success on this new and exciting adventure!
EPMF General Assembly
6-7 June 2023
A sunny hello from Frankfurt am Main! The EPMF and its Members gathered for a two-day General Assembly meeting. Busy agenda with many topics to cover and discuss. This time we welcomed two very special guest speakers:
– Richard Meads from European Regulation and Innovation Forum. He gave us a sneak peek into a soon to be published research project on regulatory philosophies,
– Philipp Walter, Heraeus showed us that precious metals are indeed indispensable in hydrogen applications and play and important role in carbon neutrality.
Anything fun? The EPMF meetings are never boring! We enjoyed a traditional Frankfurt dinner in a cosy atmosphere and visited Heraeus headquarters in Hanau. A big thank you to our Vice-President Marius Vigener and Heraeus Team for welcoming the EPMF Members at the site. And of course, many thanks to our Members for joining and see you again at the next General Assembly in December in Brussels!
The EPMF Secretary General France Capon at REACH Conference in Bratislava
22-23 May 2023
The EPMF, Eurometaux and Cefic co-organised a Chemicals Management workshop in Bratislava with a local partner Ekotox.sk. The aim of this workshop was to share information on the REACH revision and have a discussion with authorities and industries of the Visegrád countries. The European Commission presented the current status of the REACH revision and its views on it. The EPMF and Eurometaux provided input on the MAF (Mixture Assessment Factor), the 4C concept (chemicals, climate, circularity and criticality) and critical aspects that are expected for the Risk Management update, e.g. the generic risk assessment (GRA) and the essential use concept (EUC). All the presentations lead to fruitful discussion panels.
Scientific Publication : “Comparative in vivo toxicokinetics of silver powder, nanosilver and soluble silver compounds after oral administration to rats”
22 May 2023
The EPMF scientific team, Jelle Mertens, Anissa Alami and Katrien Arijs, ARCHE Consulting, is glad to present a new in vivo comparative toxicokinetics study of soluble silver compounds, nanosilver, silver powder supporting the prediction that silver in massive and powder forms exhibit low toxicity potential. The study can be accessed on the EPMF Scientific Publications page or in Archives of Toxicology.
Have a good read!
‘Metals Day’ at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
9-10 May 2023
The EPMF joined Eurometaux ‘Metals Day’ at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Non-ferrous metals associations and industry representatives came together for panel debates and a high-level dinner with the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The EPMF co-sponsored a panel on ‘Sustainable raw materials: from the mine to circularity’ with the fellow mining association Euromines. The precious metals industry was represented by the EPMF President Wouter Ghyoot, Umicore. Not only it was a great opportunity to share our views and asks, but also learn about the MEPs position regarding Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), environmental and circularity aspects and their position towards the EU metals industry in general.
Position Paper: comments on the prioritisation of silver under the Water Framework Directive and derivation of freshwater EQS
13 April 2023
The European Commission proposed to revise the list of pollutants affecting surface water and groundwater and to include silver on the Priority Substances list. The EPMF does not agree with such prioritization and is advocating that only “substances found to pose a significant risk” should be considered for inclusion on the Priority Substances list. There is clear scientific evidence that silver poses low or no risk to or via the aquatic environment. The more detailed EPMF position with scientific findings can be found here.
The EPMF Annual Report 2022
30 March 2023
The EPMF is pleased to share its Annual Report of the year 2022. It was a busy year for the EPMF: the silver classification process, REACH and CLP revisions, EU waste, responsible sourcing policies. Also, the continued work on the REACH registration dossier to maintain them and secure accurate and with high-quality information. Let’s not forget the Water Framework Directive and Critical Raw Materials Act.
As always, we prepared interesting facts about each of the precious metal and… a quiz!
Enjoy the reading!
Position Paper: RAC opinion on classification of silver metal
22 March 2023
Please read the EPMF position on the RAC (the Committee for Risk Assessment of ECHA) opinion related to the classification of silver metal here.