Fastmarkets outlines some of the key topics likely to dominate discussions at this year's Antimony Day, held by the International Antimony Association in Antwerp, Belgium on Tuesday October 1.
How could increasing regulation affect the supply chain? Antimony trioxide use is undergoing regulatory scrutiny and could become subject to environmental or health regulatory requirements. Concerns of the effect of this specialty chemical on human health, related to its potential carcinogenicity, have fed the debate for removing it in flame retardants in North America and Europe. In recent months, market participants have raised questions on how the regulatory horizon could change the value chain of antimony trioxide. Discussions already gravitate toward the specific hazards of antimony substances and what they mean from a risk perspective. During the event, stakeholders from the antimony value chain will address subjects such as the shortlisting of antimony trioxide for consideration by the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive by the European Commission, as well as the EU Reach substance evaluation. It is yet unclear to what extent antimony trioxide will see restrictions resulting in...