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Reach and animal tests
editorial
A month for Trade Fairs
Richard Felton editor
A
lmost like waiting for a bus, when one trade show comes into view in October, there’s another one almost directly behind it. First up this month is EuroPM2009, the established European annual PM fest, this year being staged in Copenhagen from 12 – 14 October. But following close behind comes Ceramitec (20 – 23 October) in Munich.
Admittedly this is unusual, since Ceramitec happens once only three years. However, it’s a big show, with some 600+ exhibitors, some of them familiar names for a PM audience. That would be no surprise, given the interest that the Fachverband Pulvermetallurgie has displayed in the event. In fact there is an extensive supporting programme, parts of which could well interest those in the PM community. The event is certainly of interest to us, given that the overlap of powder technologies is becoming difficult to ignore. So we will be there. The support programme features lectures on specialist themes and panel discussions. Participation is free. In a wide range of segments within the ceramics industry, efficient use of energy plays a significant role in upstream and high-temperature processes. Ceramitec takes diverse perspectives – preparation technology, shaping, drying technology and sintering technology – so as to
REACH and animal tests The vexed problem of animal testing in relation to the REACH legislation has surfaced again, with an attack by two respected toxicologists in the magazine Nature on the position adopted by the European Chemicals Agency. In an exchange of fire, the ECHA called the figures projected for laboratory animal usage in a study by Thomas Hartung and Costanza Rovida “inaccurate and an overestimate”. Hartung and Rovida argue that their study, the first to analyse potential REACH costs in five years is based on, among other things, the pre-registration of chemicals, which ended in 2008. It was expected that 27 000 companies would submit 180 000 pre-registrations on 29 000 substances. In fact some 65 000 companies submitted more than 2.7 million pre-registrations for more than 140 000 substances. REACH aims to complete data collection by 2018. The number of animals involved could be 54 million vertebrates; costs in the order of €9.5 billion – chargeable to industry. “In recent decades Europe has tested some 200 – 300 new chemicals each year, making REACH an unprecedented
metal-powder.net
challenge. Toxicologists do not have the appropriate tools, whether high throughput methods or acceptable alternatives to animal testing, to meet these expectations,” says the study. The ECHA’s estimates are nine million laboratory animals and costs of €1.3 billion, so there is a gulf between the agency and its critics. Although the Hartung Rovida study is the first in the area in five years, in some respects it bears a considerable congruence to an earlier study by the Institute for Environment and Health (IEH) for the UK Government published in 2001. That study estimated that without a substantial increase in testing capacity, the target dates set out by the ECHA had no chance of being met. That question remains unanswered in the present spat, but it is for the Agency to convincingly refute the point. On costs, there is better agreement. Then the European Commission’s estimate was €2.1 billion against research estimates of around 8.6 billion, indicating that the ECHA must be one of the few institutions in history to reduce its cost projections. Credibility may be at risk here.
better cater for the different specialist disciplines. The partner for the “Energy and Cost-Efficiency” event is the German Ceramics Society (Deutsche Keramische Gesellschaft – DKG), which will be drawing on its broad-based network of leading experts and speakers. The innovative capability of technical ceramics and powder metallurgy and the potential of modern processing techniques for establishing new products will be showcased in the “Technical Ceramics and Powder Metallurgy Day” on Wednesday, 21 October. Among the themes highlighted at this event will be new and established technologies for manufacturing powder metallurgy components and innovations and technologies for production in the ceramics industry and other fields of application. Different manufacturing processes, innovative techniques and newly developed systems from both areas will be presented. The technical organisation of this event is in the hands of the Fraunhofer IKTS (Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems) and TASK / Meeting Point Ceramics in co-operation with Germany´s powder metallurgy trade association – Fachverband Pulvermetallurgie. Running down the line of “a theme a day”, a trade journal Zi (Ziegelindustrie International, bauverlag) is organising a “Heavy Clay Day” on Thursday, 22 October. The themes covered by the lectures at this event include energy efficiency from product manufacturing to energy optimisation throughout the entire production process, energy-efficient buildings and the future potential open to the sector. And finally, the programme boasts another premiere: On Friday, 23 October, an “India Day” will be staged as a follow-up to the 5th Ceramitec Round Table which took place in November 2008 in Mumbai. This event is designed as an Indian-European partnership meeting, and an opportunity to highlight the situation in the Indian market against the background of economic crisis.
October 2009 MPR
3
A month for Trade Fairs
Richard Felton editor
A
lmost like waiting for a bus, when one trade show comes into view in October, there’s another one almost directly behind it. First up this month is EuroPM2009, the established European annual PM fest, this year being staged in Copenhagen from 12 – 14 October. But following close behind comes Ceramitec (20 – 23 October) in Munich.
Admittedly this is unusual, since Ceramitec happens once only three years. However, it’s a big show, with some 600+ exhibitors, some of them familiar names for a PM audience. That would be no surprise, given the interest that the Fachverband Pulvermetallurgie has displayed in the event. In fact there is an extensive supporting programme, parts of which could well interest those in the PM community. The event is certainly of interest to us, given that the overlap of powder technologies is becoming difficult to ignore. So we will be there. The support programme features lectures on specialist themes and panel discussions. Participation is free. In a wide range of segments within the ceramics industry, efficient use of energy plays a significant role in upstream and high-temperature processes. Ceramitec takes diverse perspectives – preparation technology, shaping, drying technology and sintering technology – so as to
REACH and animal tests The vexed problem of animal testing in relation to the REACH legislation has surfaced again, with an attack by two respected toxicologists in the magazine Nature on the position adopted by the European Chemicals Agency. In an exchange of fire, the ECHA called the figures projected for laboratory animal usage in a study by Thomas Hartung and Costanza Rovida “inaccurate and an overestimate”. Hartung and Rovida argue that their study, the first to analyse potential REACH costs in five years is based on, among other things, the pre-registration of chemicals, which ended in 2008. It was expected that 27 000 companies would submit 180 000 pre-registrations on 29 000 substances. In fact some 65 000 companies submitted more than 2.7 million pre-registrations for more than 140 000 substances. REACH aims to complete data collection by 2018. The number of animals involved could be 54 million vertebrates; costs in the order of €9.5 billion – chargeable to industry. “In recent decades Europe has tested some 200 – 300 new chemicals each year, making REACH an unprecedented
metal-powder.net
challenge. Toxicologists do not have the appropriate tools, whether high throughput methods or acceptable alternatives to animal testing, to meet these expectations,” says the study. The ECHA’s estimates are nine million laboratory animals and costs of €1.3 billion, so there is a gulf between the agency and its critics. Although the Hartung Rovida study is the first in the area in five years, in some respects it bears a considerable congruence to an earlier study by the Institute for Environment and Health (IEH) for the UK Government published in 2001. That study estimated that without a substantial increase in testing capacity, the target dates set out by the ECHA had no chance of being met. That question remains unanswered in the present spat, but it is for the Agency to convincingly refute the point. On costs, there is better agreement. Then the European Commission’s estimate was €2.1 billion against research estimates of around 8.6 billion, indicating that the ECHA must be one of the few institutions in history to reduce its cost projections. Credibility may be at risk here.
better cater for the different specialist disciplines. The partner for the “Energy and Cost-Efficiency” event is the German Ceramics Society (Deutsche Keramische Gesellschaft – DKG), which will be drawing on its broad-based network of leading experts and speakers. The innovative capability of technical ceramics and powder metallurgy and the potential of modern processing techniques for establishing new products will be showcased in the “Technical Ceramics and Powder Metallurgy Day” on Wednesday, 21 October. Among the themes highlighted at this event will be new and established technologies for manufacturing powder metallurgy components and innovations and technologies for production in the ceramics industry and other fields of application. Different manufacturing processes, innovative techniques and newly developed systems from both areas will be presented. The technical organisation of this event is in the hands of the Fraunhofer IKTS (Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems) and TASK / Meeting Point Ceramics in co-operation with Germany´s powder metallurgy trade association – Fachverband Pulvermetallurgie. Running down the line of “a theme a day”, a trade journal Zi (Ziegelindustrie International, bauverlag) is organising a “Heavy Clay Day” on Thursday, 22 October. The themes covered by the lectures at this event include energy efficiency from product manufacturing to energy optimisation throughout the entire production process, energy-efficient buildings and the future potential open to the sector. And finally, the programme boasts another premiere: On Friday, 23 October, an “India Day” will be staged as a follow-up to the 5th Ceramitec Round Table which took place in November 2008 in Mumbai. This event is designed as an Indian-European partnership meeting, and an opportunity to highlight the situation in the Indian market against the background of economic crisis.
October 2009 MPR
3