New Diisocyanate Regulations - Training Update

Published: 06 December 2021

As of 24 August 2023, training is required for professional and industrial users of polyurethane adhesives and sealant products within the EU and UK. A PU Training platform is now live and in use.

Key points:

• New labelling & training regulations are being introduced for diisocyanates (used in polyurethane (PU) products).
• Product labels need the following statement added by 24th February 2022: 'As from 24th August 2023, adequate training is required before industrial or professional use’.
• A new EU training platform has now been launched (www.safeusediisocyanates.eu).
• The FEICA European Executive Board has decided to financially support the training of professional and industrial users of polyurethane (PU) adhesives and sealants, for members and their clients/customers. Please contact us for the discount code.

Recap: New REACH labelling and training regulations are being introduced for diisocyanates; the chemical building blocks for polyurethane (PU) products, including foam products and roofing adhesives. Labelling regulations are to be implemented by February 2022 and training regulations by August 2023. The regulations address industrial and professional use, targeting unsafe handling, whilst allowing adhesives and sealants to remain widely available. It does not impact the DIY market.

More information on the background of the regulations can be found in our previous blog here: https://www.apollo.co.uk/news/new-diisocyanate-regulations/

Labelling

Products sold within the EU and UK with a total monomeric diisocyanate concentration greater than 0.1% intended for professional or industrial use must have the statement below on the product container label by 24th February 2022:

'As from 24th August 2023, adequate training is required before industrial or professional use’.

This sentence should be visibly distinct from the rest of the label information. If you’re a private-label customer of Apollo and the products you purchase from us are affected, we would have already been in touch regarding the addition of the statement to your product labels.

Training

Training and certification for product users, which involves passing an examination, must be completed by 24 August 2023. Records of the training given to employees must be maintained by employers. Every five years, renewal of the training will be necessary.

FEICA (the Association of the European Adhesive & Sealant Industry, in coordination with several other bodies within the polyurethane industry, have been developing a comprehensive training programme to ensure the safe use of diisocyanates for producers and professional users all over Europe.

A PU Training Platform has therefore been launched for product users within the EU and UK,and can be reached via www.safeusediisocyanates.eu.

On this platform, industrial and professional users can either follow a self-eLearning training (priced at 5 euros per user/certificate) or can register to sessions with an accredited trainer.

At first the training modules will be available only in English. However, they will also be available in every EU language by the middle of 2022.

FEICA made the decision to financially support the training of professional and industrial users of polyurethane (PU) adhesives and sealants for member organisations and their clients. By using the FEICA voucher code, the web-based training for adhesive and sealant applications (priced at 5 euros per user/certificate) will therefore be free of charge. Note that the FEICA voucher is only valid for the designated training material related to PU adhesives and sealant applications and is only available for member organisations and their direct clients. Please contact us for more information.

Please see www.feica.eu/PUinfo and www.feica.eu/our-priorities/safe-use-diisocyanates for updates and more information.