Banned and restricted substances

As a manufacturer, who is committed to Responsible Care®, Borealis is banning or restricting the use of certain substances in its production processes and products that are dangerous for human health or the environment. Borealis has also applied a precautionary approach to certain substances due to the potential health or environmental risks which they may present and which are still being assessed by regulatory authorities.

For transparent communication with its customers and other stakeholders, Borealis publishes a "Black and Grey list" of banned or restricted substances and regularly updates it in light of the conclusions of risk assessments and classifications of chemicals.

The Black and Grey list indicates:

1. hazardous chemical substances which are not intentionally used in Borealis production processes or which are not intentionally included in products manufactured by Borealis in unreacted form, and
2. substances that are subject to phase-out plans to be no longer used in Borealis production processes or included in products in unreacted form as soon as alternatives are technically and economically available. 

The list is based on a review of substances that are relevant or can be used in Borealis base chemicals or polyolefins specific production processes and products. It does not constitute a comprehensive list of other hazardous or potentially hazardous substances that are irrelevant for or of no use in Borealis processes or products.

How does the production of carcinogenic benzene and 1,3-butadiene go together with the Borealis policy to ban hazardous chemicals?

Borealis is operating steam crackers to manufacture the monomers for PE and PP by mainly using naphtha and LPG as feedstock. During the steam cracking process, some by-products are formed which contain the carcinogenic chemicals benzene or 1,3-butadiene. In our fully integrated petrochemical complex in Finland, those substances are removed from the by-products, leaving behind less hazardous streams than before. The purified chemical intermediates benzene and 1,3-butadiene are then further converted by Borealis and our customers to different products (e.g. phenol, acetone, polymers), which are safe to use and are essential feedstock for consumer end use markets as diverse as pharmaceuticals, building insulation, textiles, household appliances, wind turbines, automotive applications and adhesive applications.

Thus Borealis is not intentionally producing hazardous chemicals but rather undertakes steps to isolate and convert these to safe and valuable products.

The safety of our workers and the environment is assured by following national and EU legislations and applying all necessary measures for intermediates or monomers under REACH.