Restricted Chemicals

As scientific knowledge advances, we’re gaining a greater understanding of the need to protect health and the environment from certain chemicals. Fortunately, technology is also improving and Desotec offers state-of-the art treatment solutions.

Substances of very high concern (SVHC) have serious and often irreversible health or environmental effects. Many pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and industrial chemicals contain SVHCs.

Carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic (CMR) chemicals are carcinogenic (causing cancer), mutagenic (causing changes to genetic materials), or reprotoxic (harming the reproductive process). They include benzene, acrylonitrile, and dichloromethane.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are “forever chemicals”, which break down extremely slowly in nature. They harm aquatic life and may enter the human food chain. Some are now banned, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

While the usage of SVHCs is restricted, some are unavoidable, such as dioxins and furans which are combustion by-products. Other common SVHCs include pesticides in the agricultural sector and hormones in pharma.

Desotec can help. Our air purification solutions are a sustainable alternative to regenerative thermal oxidisers (RTOs) and are more suitable for discontinuous production.

We also offer industrial water treatment for contaminated wastewater. Many restricted chemicals are adsorbable organic halogens (AOX), for which the activated carbon used in Desotec’s filters is certified as a Best Available Technique (BAT).

The closed design of all our filters means that your workforce is always protected from the carbon once is saturated with restricted chemicals, even during filter exchange.

Although many POPs are heavily restricted today, they have left a legacy of contaminated land and groundwater at former industrial sites. Spills of creosote, petrochemicals, pesticides, and dry cleaning fluids may all contain POPs.

Desotec is here for your firm. We partner with remediation companies, supplying filters that treat pumped-up groundwater or air emissions from excavated or thermally treated soil.

Our filters are mobile and have a small footprint, making them well suited to temporary projects at busy construction sites. If you discover POPs unexpectedly, we can supply filters at short notice so your project can continue without delay.

Restricted chemicals are subject to tight regulation by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), even at very low concentrations. Once a chemical is included in the ECHA’s list of SVHC, the EU REACH legislation will mandate companies to verify whether their emissions contain it.

Many countries, including France, oblige construction companies to treat POPs if they find them during excavations.