Clarification : Non-labelled oil rules apply only to tyres

ERJ staff report (DS)

London -- ERJ has been asked to confirm that the EC directive (2005/69/EC) on the use of oils containing high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) applies only to tyres and retread materials and not to other rubber products.

The directive covers passenger car tyres, light and heavy truck tyres, agricultural tyres and motorcycle tyres as well as retread materials for these products.

The official rule says the following: "tyres and treads for retreading manufactured after 1 January 2010 may not be placed on the market if they contain extender oils exceeding the limits [listed in attached document]"

Oils containing PAHs above the limits must be labelled as such. Thus, the industry is converting to so-called non-labelled oils to comply with the new rules ahead of the ban. However, the industry has been surprised by the number of tyre manufacturing companies which intend to observe the EC ban, even where they make tyres for markets unaffected by the ban. Thus, demand for non-labelled oils has grown above initial estimates, leading to fears of shortages.

Currently, suppliers of oil-extended E-SBR and S-SBR suggest that these fears are unfounded, and report no problems in obtaining sufficient non-labelled oils to meet market demand.

In practice, the tyre industry appears to be converging on solutions involving TDAE oils. Other solutions such as naphthenic oils may well become the standard in the non-tyre sector. Industry observers suggest that where the non-tyre sector is currently using TDAE oils, these may well become short in the coming months as tyre makers around the world convert to non-labelled oils.

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Extract from Official Journal of the EC