ICL-IP launch Systematic Assessment for Flame Retardants (SAFR™)
World’s largest bromine producer unveils groundbreaking assessment tool at Chinaplas 2015
- Tool expands upon existing hazard based approaches to incorporate potential exposure into assessment outcomes
- After a rigorous 3 year development process, the SAFR™ assessment tool is now available to be used by all stakeholders who produce or use flame retardants
ICL-IP, a world leading producer of flame retardants and the largest producer of elemental bromine, unveiled a new science-based assessment tool for flame retardants at Chinaplas 2015 on 22.5.15.
The flame retardant assessment tool, which is for use across all flame retardants, assesses the sustainability profile of individual flame retardants according to their application. ICL-IP have named the assessment methodology, SAFR™, which stands for Systematic Assessment for Flame Retardants.
The launch will take place at CHINAPLAS, the world’s largest plastics conference. ICL-IP will present the methodology behind SAFR™ and the potential for this new tool to be used by a broad range of stakeholders including those within and beyond the flame retardant industry. Following the launch ICL-IP will be providing consultations with customers and welcome any company interested in learning more about this new assessment methodology for flame retardants to contact their local sales team.
Ilan Elkan, ICL-IP’s VP of Sustainability and Advocacy, said:
“This is a groundbreaking moment for ICL-IP as we unveil SAFR™. We designed this tool as an important part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and sustainability, but for SAFR™ to truly fulfil its intended use, it needs to be adopted by all parts of the value chain, where it will enable purchasing decisions to be made based on the sustainable use of a product in a specific application.
SAFR™ is a step-change for the industry and marks a new level of transparency. Not only will our direct customers benefit, but those up the user chain will be able to measure not only the hazard, but the exposure of any given flame retardant. This will allow them to make the most sustainable choice of flame retardant against a given application.”
SAFR™ utilizes the latest available scientific data to assess each FR product according to its application, with the intention that this will lead to the use of the most sustainable, effective products appropriate for a given use or application.
Building on existing, accepted hazard criteria, the approach assesses the extent to which potential hazards translate into potential risks due to possible exposure to humans and/or to the environment during the service life of the flame retardant. SAFR™ provides a rigorous evaluation of flame retardants in their applications, thus providing users with a tool for selecting the most sustainable product for the intended use.
ICL-IP are in the process of reviewing their portfolio of flame retardants using SAFR™, having already assessed over 70 per cent. This process will be repeated periodically, as dictated by the SAFR™ methodology.
The SAFR™ tool provides one of four possible outcomes for each product assessed: uses that are ‘recommended’, ‘acceptable’, or ‘not recommended’ and ‘unacceptable hazard’. Flame retardants in applications which have a rating of ‘recommended’ through to ‘not recommended’ are all usable; however users of flame retardants which achieve a ‘not recommended’ rating will be provided the option of an alternative product with a ‘recommended’ or ‘acceptable’ rating.
With this approach, FR users can make an informed purchase decision about the most sustainable, efficient product to fulfil their requirements.
ICL-IP products that have an ‘unacceptable’ hazard rating – including those that are still in the development phase – will be, and in many cases have already been phased out in coordination with the value chain
The methodology behind SAFR™ can be made available to any interested party upon request to ICL-IP. All requests should be made to [email protected]