US EPA Proposes Rule To Limit Isocyanates In Polyurethane

“SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hybrid Coating Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:HCTI) is pleased to announce that the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) announced on January 8^th, 2015 that it is taking action to protect consumers from new uses and imports of harmful isocyanates in polyurethane. The EPA’s proposed action, a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), would require manufacturers (including importers) to notify the EPA at least 90 days before starting or resuming new uses of isocyanates in polyurethane based consumer products. The EPA would then have the opportunity to evaluate the intended use of and if necessary, to take action to prohibit or limit all products containing over one tenth of one percent of the chemical including imported products that make their way into the United States. According to the US EPA, isocyanates are currently widely used in the production of polyurethanes such as coatings, elastomers, adhesives, and sealants and can be found in consumer products used in and around homes or schools. Isocyanates are well known dermal and inhalation sensitizers in the workplace and can cause asthma, lung damage, and in severe cases, death.

“We are very pleased to see that the US EPA is following suit on its pledge to crack down on isocyanates,” said Joseph Kristul, President and CEO of Hybrid. “As the only company in the world with a non-isocyanate polyurethane technology, this puts Hybrid in a very unique and opportune situation.”

Hybrid’s polyurethane technology was mentioned in the US EPA’s previous action report as the only commercially available alternative to toxic isocyanate based polyurethane.

Management believes that this most recent action by the EPA, which follows actions by the US Department of Labor and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, is a precursor to stricter regulations to come on the use of isocyanates and should eventually lead to an outright ban of isocyanates altogether”.