BATON ROUGE, US: In a letter to Lisa P Jackson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Albemarle Corporation offered its support of the EPA’s efforts to finalize its proposed actions on polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Such action will ensure that decaBDE will not be imported into the United States after 31 December 2013.
“Albemarle supports the EPA proposal to amend the PBDE SNUR to designate manufacturing, importing, or processing of decaBDE for any use which is not ongoing after 31 December 2013 as a significant new use. Further, Albemarle supports the EPA’s efforts to promulgate a test rule for PBDEs if it determines that manufacture (including import) or processing of PBDEs has not ceased by 31 December 2013,” said Dr David Clary, Chief Sustainability Officer, Albemarle, in the letter.
Albemarle, in cooperation with the EPA, announced a voluntary phase out of its production of decaBDE in 2009. The company is on schedule to cease commercial production of decaBDE entirely by the end of 2012 in accordance with its agreement with EPA and will limit commercial sales within the United States in 2013 to only transportation and military applications requiring that additional transition time.
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