Ohio, US – Responding to impending regulatory changes by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), performance materials company Hexion is positioning its Versatic Acid 10, as a safer-to-use replacement for 2-ethyhexanoic acid (2-EHA).
From November 2023, 2-EHA – and most of its salts – will be reclassified as Reprotoxic Category 1B by the ECHA’s risk assessment committee. The 1B categorisation refers to materials that are presumed to be a human carcinogen (H340), mutagen (H350), or reproductive toxicant (H360), based on animal studies.
“Versatic Acid 10 is a proven technology that is a high-performance alternative for producers who will be impacted by the pending regulatory changes,” said Jeroen Jansema, a vice president and general manager at Hexion. “Versatic Acid 10 is just one proven product in Hexion’s Versatic Acid portfolio and it delivers a variety of critical performance improvements that help customers improve hydrolytic and chemical stability, water repellence, durability, and adhesion. We have been working with many market leaders as they prepare to transition away from 2-EHA to a higher-performance solution.”
In a caveat to the claim that the product is safer-to-use, the company says it is safer-to-use as a non-classified material under the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) with no signal word, and no known significant HS&E effects or significant hazards.
