VECAP US News: VECAP NA progress report, available here Industry Commitment The bromine industry recognizes that it is important, and in everyone’s best interest, to minimize emissions of chemicals to the environment to the greatest extent practicable. As such, the three major world producers of brominated flame retardants have pledged to align their manufacturing facilities with the groundbreaking Voluntary Emissions Control Action Program VECAP™, and to expand the program to their downstream users in North America. Read the Letters of Commitment from the leaders of Albemarle, Chemtura and ICL-IP. Through VECAP™, the manufacturers and users of brominated flame retardants work together to establish and implement best practices on managing brominated flame retardants to reduce and prevent emissions to the environment. A VECAP™ program specific to Decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca-BDE) was introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004, extended to other European Union countries in 2005, and then launched in the United States and Canada in 2006. At its highest levels, VECAP™ is a proactive and dynamic industry plan to understand, control and reduce emissions of Deca-BDE. A leaflet is available that explains VECAP™ here. The EU program is currently being extended to other brominated flame retardants and to additional European countries and VECAP™ North America (USA and Canada) will soon follow.
VECAP™ has been successful in reducing the environmental emissions from European textile and plastic processes. In the UK textiles sector alone, there was a 75 percent emission reduction to water realized through VECAP™ implementation. In addition, the program has been accepted and embraced as a beneficial and effective stewardship model by Deca-BDE users, trade groups, original equipment manufacturers, the EU Competent Authorities and several regulatory agencies. Similarly, since its launch, the North American program has been well-received by manufacturing users and regulatory stakeholders. The brominated flame retardant industry is committed to utilizing VECAP™ tools and methodology to realize similar success in emissions reductions in North America.
VECAP Workshops The bromine industry recognizes and respects public concerns with respect to chemicals. We are committed to ensuring that the environmental impact of our brominated flame retardant operations is reduced to a level as low as practically possible and in working with users to achieve their own emission reductions. As part of our efforts to educate interested parties and stakeholders, BSEF conducted workshops in Sacramento, California and Washington, DC in November 2006 to introduce VECAP™ to regulators, non-government organizations, trade groups and others interested in reducing emissions of brominated flame retardants. Similar workshops are planned for Canadian stakeholders in the coming months. Click here to see the presentation. VECAP™ Codes of Good Practice Working procedures and good housekeeping measures are set forth in the VECAP™ Codes of Good Practice. VECAP™ Code of Good Practice for Plastic VECAP™ Code of Good Practice for Textiles VECAP™ Contact For questions about VECAP™ in North America, please send an e-mail to: mail@bsef.com
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