New Restriction on Diisocyanate Products
Introduction
Polyurethane (PU) products are versatile, innovative, and safe. They are used in a wide variety of applications
in construction, packaging, automotive, furniture, engineering, marine, transportation, and many more. PU products are made by reacting diisocyanates and polyols. On 4 August 2020, a new restriction on diisocyanates was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. It targets respiratory and dermal sensitisation potentially caused by diisocyanates and requires
training prior to use.
Since the UK government transferred all existing EU legislation on 31st December 2020 into UK law, this
restriction will apply also in Great Britain.
What does the restriction mean?
Product Labelling
Affected products are required to carry a phrase on the label from 24 February 2022 indicating the requirement for training. The wording shall be visible in a manner that is visibly distinct from the rest of the label:
As from 24 August 2023 adequate training is required before industrial or professional use
In order to ensure that the recipient is provided with training material, a URL link to further information
and/or a QR‐code can be used alongside: feica.eu/PUinfo
User Training
To ensure that workers can continue to handle diisocyanates safely, new training requirements will become
mandatory for professional and industrial users of products with a total monomeric diisocyanate
concentration of >0.1% from 24 August 2023, and thereafter every 5 years.
The content and duration of training depends on the use of the product and the level of risk of exposure. The user of diisocyanates ‐ either the employer of the user or the self‐employed person ‐ must complete and document the completion of the training. If you do not comply with these mandatory trainings, you will no longer be allowed to work with diisocyanates.
ISOPA/ALIPA, and a collaboration of industry partners, are organising a comprehensive training programme to ensure the safe use of diisocyanates for producers and professional users. The training will be available in local language and is expected to be available in the Spring of 2022.
Go to the ‘Safe Use of Diisocyanates’ website to read more about the training requirements and how they might apply to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are diisocyanates safe?
Like any substance, diisocyanates’ use is safe when chemicals are handled according to relevant risk management and safety measures. It is also important to stress that virtually no diisocyanates can be found in finished articles. Diisocyanates are only used as reactive chemicals; they react with the polyol to form the PU product and are used up during the reaction.
What is respiratory sensitisation?
Sensitisation means that after exposure, a person could become allergic to the substance. If sensitised, each
time the person is in contact again with the substance (even at very low concentrations) the person could
have a high allergic reaction with respiratory impacts (e.g., asthma). The majority of individuals with
diisocyanates‐related asthma show improvement or total recovery after exposure has ceased.
I am a reseller/distributor. What do I need to do?
Pass the information you receive from your product supplier on to your customers.
What about PU products for consumer/DIY use?
The new regulation only applies to professionals and industry. A separate restriction for consumer/DIY use came into force several years ago.
At what date will this regulation come into force?
The new regulation was adopted on 4 August 2020 and came into force on 24 August 2020 which means that by 24 August 2023 all users of PU products should be trained and certified.
When do I have to update the labelling of my packaging?
The legal requirements should appear on the packaging as of 24 February 2022.
Will PU products remain on the market?
The restriction is targeted at avoiding unsafe handling of diisocyanates, not on restricting product availability. Due to their unique properties in many applications PU products will remain widely available.
Who should I contact if I have questions?
Tremco CPG Europe can help you with any product‐specific questions. Please contact your local product manager or
technical support.
If you would like to learn more about the status of training developments or other related general topics,
go to http://www.safeusediisocyanates.eu/ or watch this video https://youtu.be/tHHfn7jnvEg
