Saferubber: safer rubber from European research

A meeting held on May 30 in Riga, Latvia, closed the Saferubber project, a three-year initiative financed under the seventh European Commission framework programme which saw the participation of Assocomaplast (as the project's coordinator) along with other 12 partners representing industry associations, research centres and small and middle enterprises.
After three years on research, the tests carried out on the new molecule - which will soon be marketed - have shown that this innovative reaction accelerator ensures the same performance as ethylene thiourea (ETU) - a substance commonly used for synthetic rubber curing - and, most importantly, that it is not dangerous for health.
In fact, the research study was started with the aim to find a substitute for ETU, which is likely to damage health and, for this reason, has been closely monitored by European health authorities.
The Saferubber research consortium is completing the registration of the new substance at the European Chemicals Agency (Echa), in compliance with the EC 1907/2006 (Reach) standard requirements.
For further information about the project: www.saferubber.eu