A safe future for polyurethane products

06 September 2022

Polyurethane (PU) adhesives and sealants are versatile, innovative and safe. They are used in a wide variety of applications in construction, packaging, automotive, furniture, engineering, marine, transportation, and many more. PU products are made by reacting diisocyanates and polyols.

On 4 August 2020, a new restriction on diisocyanates was introduced in the UK and EU. It targets respiratory and dermal sensitisation potentially caused by diisocyanates and requires training prior to use.

Your staff will need to be trained and certified by 24 August 2023 in how to handle products containing diisocyanates safely. This will apply to all professional and industrial users of products with a total monomeric diisocyanate concentration of > 0.1%. Since 24 February 2022, such products have to carry a phrase on the label indicating the requirement of training. FEICA, in coordination with ISOPA and ALIPA, the diisocyanate manufacturers’ industry associations, prepared training material for use by its members and by adhesive or sealant users, which is available via FEICA’s dedicated PU Training webpage www.feica.eu/PUinfo.

As a BASA Member all companies have access to the staff training modules as part of their membership. Non BASA Members will need to pay the costs of the required training to comply with the UK legislation. The details for this training is available on the members-only area of the BASA website here. Not a BASA Member company and active in the adhesives and sealants area, why not look at the BASA membership benefits and consider applying? Find our about BASA's subscription rates and objectives here.

As the industry is committed to the safe use of diisocyanates in the workplace all users of sealants and adhesives can access the free training in the UK. This training has been provided to all professional and industrial users in Europe not just in the EU.