The average man in the street has probably never heard of the European Printing Ink Association Exclusion List. In fact since 1996 it has been of central importance in protecting the health and safety of workers in the ink manufacturing and printing industries, as well as the end users of printed materials. The European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA) represents the interests of virtually every ink manufacturing company in Europe, and through its various committees offers guidance to its members on a wide range of topics. The Exclusion List, which was drawn up and regularly updated by the EuPIA Technical Committee, applied rules for the non-use of certain substances, based on potential hazard to health, going beyond restrictions in any existing European legislation. All EuPIA members voluntarily exclude any chemicals that appear in the Exclusion List from their ink formulations, even if it means the cost of the formulation rises as a result.

With increasing re-classification of substances under EU chemicals legislation, such as the regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), this hazard-based approach could have negative impacts on printing processes in the short term. Continuing their ongoing commitment to providing clear guidance to their members and to promoting the highest possible safety standards, EuPIA has now issued a new Exclusion Policy (downloadable from www.eupia.org), which preserves the clarity of the List, whilst also taking into account chemicals’ intended uses and exposure scenarios. This enables impacts on the downstream supply chain to be mitigated where immediate substitution is not an option, but where safety in use can be adequately demonstrated.

The Exclusion Policy is a pre-emptive step by EuPIA in advance of official controls on hazardous chemicals under REACH, and it clearly demonstrates the self-regulatory nature of the industry in its desire to achieve the highest possible standards of health and safety for its members and their downstream partners. The requirements of the Policy are regularly reviewed by the EuPIA Technical Committee.