A NEW ERA BEGINS FOR THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

 

Products Harmful to Environment and Human Health Can No Longer Be Supplied to Turkish Market

With the KKDİK regulation that entered into force on 23 December 2017, restrictions were placed on certain chemicals used in products in all areas of our lives, and some were completely banned.

With KKDİK introducing new regulations on chemical substances used in hundreds of products ranging from toys to home textiles, cleaning materials to jewelry, paints to construction materials and cosmetics, chemicals are now more environmentally and health-friendly.

News about products that threaten public health due to harmful chemicals in their composition has become one of the most frequently encountered issues. The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, which has taken serious measures for both domestic production and imports to protect consumers from exposure to these chemicals, prepared the "Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals - KKDİK", which entered into force on 23 December 2017. With KKDİK, Turkey took an important step in monitoring chemicals and reducing their harmful effects. Thanks to KKDİK, which is virtually a copy of the European Union REACH Regulation bearing the same title, another step was taken in harmonizing Turkey's environmental and public health legislation with the EU. With KKDİK, the aim is to protect human health and the environment at the highest level from the negative effects of chemicals used in hundreds of products we touch every day, ranging from cleaning materials to jewelry, cosmetics to pranks and children's toys. 23 June 2017, the KKDİK Regulation was published and adopted in the Official Gazette, and entered into force on 23 December 2017, marking a new era in the chemical sector for both domestic producers and importers.

Chemicals Will Now Have a "Passport"

Murat Akyüz, Chairman of the Board of Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) and Founding Chairman of REACH Global Services (RGS), stated: "Just as people have passports, now chemical substances are wanted to have passports in the world. What was used in the production of a product? Where were these chemicals sourced, how much was produced in Turkey by whom, and from which foreign manufacturers was how much imported by whom? All of this now needs to be recorded and monitored. The whole world is moving in this direction. Many countries have similar legislation. Turkey has also begun implementing its own legislation with KKDİK." Noting that products supplied to the Turkish market will be controlled within the scope of KKDİK, Akyüz pointed out that with the regulation, chemicals will be registered, and firms producing in Turkey or importing from abroad need to register with the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization in order to continue their industrial and commercial activities. According to the regulation, chemicals manufactured or imported in quantities of one ton or more per year, either on their own or in mixtures, can no longer be supplied to the market without a registration number ("passport"). These substances must be finally registered by 31 December 2023, and pre-registrations must be completed before that date.

Companies That Do Not Register in the System Will Lose Out

Akyüz, noting that the REACH legislation in force in the EU has been known for many years and that work has been done in Turkey for the past ten years to implement similar systems, continued as follows: "As a country that exports 40 percent of chemical production to the EU, our exporters have worked intensively since 2008 to comply with EU REACH legislation. Our sector is experienced in this matter. In the coming process, similar to the EU, timely registration for KKDİK is important. In order for our companies' registrations to be carried out by a Turkish company, we have established REACH Global Services Consulting Inc., which will provide "Only Representative" services in Turkey, affiliated with our REACH Global Services company founded in the EU in 2008, with the support of İMMİB. Our companies will continue to provide services in harmonizing Turkish firms' compliance with EU REACH legislation and KKDİK legislation for domestic and foreign substances to be placed on the Turkish market. It is very important for our producers and importers to register so they can quickly adapt to this new era." Just as in EU REACH legislation, from now on "no registration, no market".

Even China is Changing

Stating that the world is no longer a place where production happens "however it happens, buyers will be found cheaply," Akyüz pointed out that even China, where the commercial reputation is not particularly bright, applies very important sanctions on chemicals. Noting that China no longer wants to be seen as a country throwing chemicals into the environment, releasing them into nature and polluting the environment, Akyüz stated that important sanctions ranging up to company closures are being applied. Akyüz said Turkey has also taken its own measures with KKDİK.

Chemicals Are Now Less Harmful

Looking at what KKDİK brings, the most notable bans apply to chemicals used in toys and textile products. For example, most of the chemicals used in sneezing powder and stink bombs, among the most popular pranks, have been banned. Human health-threatening pranks will no longer be allowed into the country. Restrictions on the use of chromium VI compounds in cement and leather goods in contact with skin, toluene in adhesives and spray paints, lead in jewelry, and Bisphenol A in POS, ATM and cash register paper are among the other notable measures of KKDİK. With the new regulation, restrictions have also been placed on the use of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE), which are said to cause environmental pollution and threaten human health, in textile products. According to the regulation, "washable textile products containing NPE at a concentration equal to or greater than 0.01 percent by weight in each part of the item or in the item itself cannot be supplied to the market". However, these examples are only the tip of the iceberg. The average consumer has not yet fully realized that chemical substances are present in almost every area of daily life. With KKDİK aligning with EU legislation, Turkey will henceforth classify chemical substances banned, restricted or monitored by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in the same way in Turkey as well.

Industry Will Respond to This Great Competition in the Sector by Working to Comply with KKDİK

All restrictions, registration obligations, and the necessity to track import and production quantities significantly increase the responsibility of everyone in the sector, regardless of their role—producer, importer, exporter or distributor. When combined with the important Article 14 serving KKDİK's purpose; within the scope of the "List of Substances Subject to Authorization," the reality that some of these chemicals and even certain phthalates known as indispensable to the plastic sector, which are currently banned in Europe, will be subject to a rigorous authorization process, the industrialist will face the necessity of switching from chemicals currently used or produced to alternative substances during the compliance process. Similar restrictions will directly affect the paint, cement, fertilizer industries and the petrochemical sector in general. Furthermore, just as in EU REACH application, importers sourcing chemical substances from abroad will henceforth need to ensure whether foreign manufacturers have had their substances KKDİK registered. Therefore, the chemical sector's process of increasing awareness regarding KKDİK and its struggle to remain in the market is just beginning. All chemical sub-sectors must take their place in this compliance process to remain in the market and maintain their competitive strength. Otherwise, the sector will be unable to exist, and job losses will be inevitable. The path to KKDİK achieving its goal of protecting human health and the environment runs through industry.