James M Brown Ltd
Manufacturer and distributor of pigments and chemicals in EU and around the world.
ID: 781189731667-25
Lobbying Activity
25 Jun 2019
James M Brown Ltd is a ceramic pigment manufacturer in the UK, where it has 70 employees. We welcome the opportunity to provide feedback on the roadmap of the inception impact assessment and to inform the initiative on migration limits for lead, cadmium and possibly other metals from ceramic and vitreous food contact materials. Key points are highlighted below and focus on the fact that it will only be possible for industry and the Commission to evaluate the impact of proposed regulatory changes if there is clarity on:
I. The inclusion of different metals and their associated limits
a. The term ‘heavy metal’ is not defined and the roadmap fails to clearly recognise the difference between metals that are present as trace elements in raw materials, those that are added for technical reasons and those that are decorative. The reasons for the use of different metal compounds needs to be clearly understood as this will have implications for how they can be controlled. Currently the document is confused in places about the presence / use of metals.
b. Clarity is required about which metal species may be deemed hazardous, the science behind these conclusions and how this is applicable to ceramics. It should be noted that many pigments are not classed as hazardous; for e.g. stable engineered Cadmium Pigments. Clearer distinction needs to be made between the technical/decorative product and the potential migratory element of concern.
c. Migration limits must be based on sound science and the impact on industry must be assessed, particularly if phase 2 elements are to be included. We are concerned that research carried out by the JRC was not based on a fair representation of ware produced in the EU as samples with significant concentrations of lead were selected so that the kinetics of reactions could be established. Moreover, there is a factual error in the Roadmap; the JRC did not test 6000 samples (as indicated on page 2) as ‘6000’ refers to a measurement value (“Between 2013 and 2017 the JRC's European Reference Laboratory for FCMs (EURL-FCM) generated over 6000 data points on hundreds of samples provided by industry”).
II. Proposed test methods
Testing costs will increase and need to be assessed for all types of manufacturers. Although more items may not need to be tested, the cost per test will increase as new equipment will be required - ICP MS is less widely available and more expensive than AA testing.
III. Definitions for artisanal and traditional production and culturally valuable products together with derogations
The document includes an objective to minimise potential adverse impacts on traditional and artisanal production and culturally valuable products, but there is no information about how these will be defined. There is also reference to 'derogations for traditional and artisanal productions' but there is no mention what these 'derogations' will be. These definitions need to be clarified before the industry can comment on the likely impact of proposals.
IV. Implementation date(s) and transitional arrangements
The economic impact on employment should not be underestimated; an adequate transition period is needed for the industry to adapt to the future legislation and this must be part of the impact assessment.
V. The management of imported products
The same level of compliance between European and imported goods should be a key priority for the European Commission; it is not clear to what extent the existing rules have been enforced at a customs level.
As a final point we would like to invite the European Commission to clarify the legislative process, including the timetable. As the European Commission is planning major changes to the legislation, with regards to the limits, and scope, we consider that a procedure of an implementing act is inappropriate and request that a co-decision process is followed in order to adopt the future legislation.
Read full responseResponse to Carcinogens 3rd wave of amendments
31 May 2018
JMB position on an Occupational Exposure Limit value (OEL)
for cadmium and its carcinogenic compounds
James M Brown Ltd (JMB) is fully committed to ensuring the safest workplace for its workers.
This is demonstrated by the implementation of the Industry Guidance developed by the International Cadmium Association (ICdA). The Industry Guidance incorporates the health-based limit values developed by SCOEL in its 2010 Recommendation. Yearly reporting of exposure data by all plants to ICdA confirms the effectiveness of this recommendation.
JMB calls to the attention of Member States that the proposal adopted by the Commission is less effective in controlling the risk to workers under the Industry Guidance.
The proposed strategy is based on an incomplete analysis. Indeed, both the Commission proposal and Impact Assessment focus exclusively on exposure through air inhalation and ignore exposure through ingestion. The Commission proposal therefore relies on an excessively low OEL with questionable efficiency.
In plants where workplace air is properly controlled, ingestion (through repeated hand to mouth contacts) is a significant source of exposure.
Biomonitoring of Cd in urine shows all uptake of cadmium, historic and recent, through both inhalation and ingestion.
The SCOEL 2010 approach controls both inhalation and ingestion. It requires compliance with an OEL of 4 µg/m3 (respirable faction) which monitors inhalation only, in combination with a biomonitoring limit value of 2 µg/g creatine in urine which monitors both exposure routes.
Moreover, air monitoring, which is performed on a limited number of workers, allows for the management of the exposure risk in a statistical way only. With biomonitoring, plant occupational doctors assess total exposure from both routes for each worker individually and make personalized recommendations.
The Binding OEL of 1µg/m3 (inhalable fraction), following the transitional OEL of 4 µg/m3 (inhalable), proposed by the Commission would mandate the use of personal respiratory equipment during full shifts, with serious consequences on the working conditions of personnel and the ensuing turnover. In the longer term, this could promote the transfer of industrial activities of out of the EU to where regulations provide for an efficient combination of air limit values and biomonitoring.
Therefore, JMB urges the Council and MS to recognize the importance of biomonitoring to protect the health of each worker individually by allowing facilities where biomonitoring is conducted by the occupational doctor to implement the Binding OEL of 4µg/m3 (respirable fraction), set by SCOEL in 2010 and confirmed by SCOEL in 2017.
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