Airedale Chemical has become the only UK-based producer directly approved for the manufacture of peracetic acid (PAA), following confirmation of its place on the EU Biocides Products Regulation (BPR).
Airedale Chemical is celebrating receiving the stamp of approval from ECHA, which demonstrates that the company, and its family of peracetic acid products, meet the stringent requirements set out by the governing body.
The Biocides Products Regulation stipulates that chemicals such as disinfectants, pest control products and preservatives now have to be approved by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), and covers biocidal products used in the protection of materials, humans and animals against bacteria, pests and other harmful organisms.
The aim of the new Europe-wide regulation is to ensure the greatest protection of people and the environment from the use of biocides, and to improve how the biocidal market operates within the EU.
Chris Chadwick, managing director at Airedale Chemical, who led the bid for registration, explained: “This has been a lengthy process, but we can’t stress enough how important it is to the company.
“It not only allows us to continue developing our peracetic acid product family which is key to our five-year strategy, but it also means that we are currently the only UK manufacturer directly approved by ECHA.
“Biocides are used in a huge number of industries including agriculture and industrial cleaning so it’s a huge market and we are now leading the way with a range of effective and approved biocide products”.
Peracetic acid is an industrial disinfectant used mainly in circulation cleaning and industrial disinfection across sectors including recycling and waste management, dairy, food and drink manufacture and breweries.
The global peracetic acid market is estimated to be worth around £30m and projected to grow to almost £45m by 2018.
Airedale Chemical supplies PAA in dilutions of 2%, 5% and 15%, and it is also available as Airocide PAAD, the DEFRA approved solution for agricultural, dairy and avian applications.
