A French safety agency has proposed recommending restrictions on the use of two diphenylamines – a category of chemicals that is relatively lightly regulated but coming under scrutiny of regulators in a number of countries.
The Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety last month published a draft recommendation to include BNPA and benzenamine, N-phenyl-, reaction products with 2,4,4-trimethylpentene in the European Union’s Classification, Labeling and Packaging Regulation, stating that both chemicals are toxic to aquatic life and can damage fertility in humans.
Both chemicals are used in a variety of lubricants, as well as other applications. If they were added to the CLP, suppliers would be required to use labeling that indicates their hazards and to provide customers with literature about how to mitigate risks to individuals working in proximity to them and to end users. Such requirements often lead to reductions in use.
BNPA stands for bis(nonylphenyl)amine. According to the French agency, ANSES, BNPA and benzenamine, N-phenyl-, reaction products with 2,4,4-trimethylpentene are used in hydraulic fluids, cutting fluids, greases and other lubricants, at least in some cases as oxidation inhibitors.
ANSES said studies found that both chemicals damaged fertility in rodents and that they negatively impacted development of the central nervous system in rodent embryos. “On this basis, both substances are presumed to be toxic to human reproduction,” it wrote in its March 15 proposal.
The agency also concluded that BNPA is very toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting impacts and that benzenamine, N-phenyl-, reaction products with 2,4,4-trimethylpentene is toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting impacts.
The European Chemicals Agency opened a public consultation on its website, inviting comments on the proposal.