SMEs: a patent to assess the risk of chemical substances

The new methodology patented by ENEA will be an helpful tool for SMEs in scaling operations, that is to say the assessment of the risk posed by chemical substances  compared to what declared by the supplier.

As of today, the enterprises dealing with chemical substances can benefit from a tool for assessing the risk of chemicals  and complying with the provisions of REACH, a regulation of the European Union adopted to improve the protection of the human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by the use of chemicals, while enhancing the competitiveness and innovation of the European chemicals industry.

It’s a new methodology, patented by ENEA, for the development of calculations tools in support of SMEs dealing with chemical substances in performing scaling operations, that is to say the assessment of the final risk compared to what declared by the supplier. The patent stems from a collaboration between ENEA and the Ministry of the Economic Development (MISE) with the aim of providing technical-scientific support to the national Helpdesk for REACH.

Since its coming into force in 2007, SMEs have found many difficulties in copying with REACH. The tool developed by ENEA for a simplified Scaling calculation plays an important role in filling up their specific lack of competencies.

The supplier is required to provide the customer with a safety data sheet including an assessment of the hazards of the substance, conducted according to personal parameters which often don’t coincide with those of the downstream user.

Scaling refers to all the tools allowing downstream users to verify if a given chemical can be used safely under different operating conditions from those indicated by the supplier.

In complying with the REACH regulation, which concerns the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemical substances, the downstream user can have the necessity of asking the supplier to provide a new scenario including its operational conditions, or can look for a different supplier providing a scenario with its own operative conditions. Ultimately, he can be forced to change substance.

Besides being an assessment tool for SMEs in the evaluation of the risk from the use of chemical substances, the patent proves useful also in the development of the Chemical Safety Report, a chemical safety assessment of the risk arising from the use of one or more chemical substances, destined to downstream users.

In the supply chain, from manufacturer to downstream user, the exposure scenario delineated by REACH is the basis for a quantitative estimate of exposure, that is to say the amount of chemicals to which humans or the environment are exposed and for this reason is an important part of communication between manufacturer and downstream user.

For more information please contact:

Roberto Carletti, ENEA Frascati Research Center roberto.carletti@enea.it

Patent number 2015000781 can be found in the ENEA data bank and is available for licensing