Rubber Board Plans to Open an Advanced Analysis Lab for Rubber Products

On January 11, the Rubber Board plans to open an advanced analysis laboratory for rubber products at the Rubber Research Institute to comply with EU Regulations. "The new facility will allow exporters to conduct independent third-party testing of rubber products for REACH compliance, as well as MSME manufacturers to design REACH compliant product formulations," said Siby Varghese, Joint Director, RRII.

About REACH:

REACH is a European Union regulation that governs the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemical substances.

RRII already has a NABL-accredited laboratory for product testing in accordance with national (IS, EU, ASTM) and international specifications. According to him, the additional facility established by the institute will allow exporters to compete in the export market.

Currently, exporting rubber products, particularly to the European Union, is a difficult task because exporters must adhere to stringent regulatory requirements. The goals of the REACH regulation are to protect human health and the environment by improving and expediting the identification of residual chemical substances in industrial products.

The EU is a major importer of rubber products from India, with a value of Rs 4200 crore in 2017-18, accounting for 25% of total rubber product export earnings from India.

Although REACH is now mandatory for products manufactured in or shipped to the EU, many other developed countries into which India exports rubber products may impose similar restrictions at some point in the future.

Several REACH-restricted chemicals are used in rubber products exported to EU member countries. Rubber chemicals such as plasticizers, extenders, accelerators, crosslinking agents, resins, antioxidants, colorants, reclaimed rubber, and so on are included in the REACH preview.

REACH limits and regulates the use of polycyclic aromatics (PCA) and substances of very high concern (SVHC) in rubber products.

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