EU plans new restrictions on hundreds of important chemicals
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:44 pm
Hi!
Unfortunately I have bad news for holography in Europe. Some required material might become banned or a permission might
be required to purchase or own it if new regulations of the European Union are passed that are currently prepared. I think
this might be important for some users here as there is still some time to influence legislation.
Because of campaigns of a dubious German lobbyist company that tried to sell software for a government internet filter (like the filter used by the Chinese government) in 2004-2009 several German authorities started over 3000 house searches against persons that purchased chemicals.
This lobbyist abused the introduction of a stricter explosives law in 2003 (experiments to build a sparkler became a serious felony) for his
allegations all purchasers of chemicals would commit crime and circumvent the explosives law. He probably knew that German bureaucrats always fear any
circumvention of any law or regulation and try to introduce new measures to prevent such circumvention immediately if they hear something like that.
First all 1700 customers of two dealers were prosecuted that were denounced by the above lobbyist to "sell high-explosives to anybody by internet mailorder".
Although this thesis was obviously not true (those dealers sold only oxidizers like hydrogen peroxide and other common household
and laboratory chemicals) German authorities defined all chemicals (e.g. sodium carbonate, calcium fluoride or dichromates) sold by the above two dealers to be chemicals for the manufacture of explosives and German (and EU) authorities started to check other dealers that sold similar chemicals. Apparently German politicians of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats from 3 states (especially Schleswig-Holstein but also Northrhine Westphalia and Bavaria) asked police to start this razzia because the above lobbyist started to reproach the Secretary of State (Schily) with accusation of inactivity on TV.
I can perhaps post a list of those chemicals later. On those list for example silver and as far as I remember silver compounds are also mentioned.
In fact all German and even nearly all European internet-dealers that offer any chemicals were checked. Frequently a search-warrant against all their customers was issued if a dealer made any mistake in the application of the regulations for sale of chemicals. For example the purchase of a few gram sodium hydroxide and copper sulfate was sufficient for a search warrant in such a case. Many customers were even accused of alleged felonies and some were even convicted although they didn't violate any law or regulation because even expert witness was apparently manipulated by the superior administration - probably because the fear of German politicians to hear again those allegations Germany would be a bomb-maker paradise because purchases of some chemicals are
still allowed.
German authorities, especially the environmental authorities that regulate the sale of chemicals, then asked the government in 2006 to pass stricter
laws and regulations to introduce an even stricter monitoring of all sales and to insist that the European Union should ban even the sale of
smallest amounts of any oxidizer to the general public. Even industry should be denounced if the owner of a company might order material
for a private experiment and such a company should be put out of business because this would be a circumvention of regulations.
They also asked for a total ban of all CMR-chemicals such as dichromates as they fear they might be used for manufacture of
explosives, too. The so called BLAC government board already instructed dealers to deny any sale of CMR-chemicals (except for gasoline)
in spite of still existing exceptions in the regulations.
The new German laws and treaties to denounce all suspicious customers to the LKA police authorities were introduced in a hasty legislation in
spring 2008 after the so called "Sauerland-Gruppe" was discovered that bought large amounts of hydrogen peroxide
and industry was asked to apply them in advance.
Apparently the German government then asked the European Union to introduce a ban for oxidizers as the EU announced a plan for this
in 2006. In 2009 a list of top-priority chemicals that should be banned completely was presented to some industry organizations.
acetone, hexamethylenetetramine, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, all nitrates, chlorates, perchlorates,
and permanganates and all mixtures thereof were listed to be banned even in dilute solutions of 10-15%. Other chemicals like citric acid
shall be monitored and sold only to adults. They even wanted that suppliers should treat all small and medium-sized companies (SMB)
like potential terrorists! Now they apparently plan a system of permissions because of critic that it doesn't make
sense to regulate smallest amounts of potassium nitrate stricter than dynamite while industrial black powder is still availaible to the general public
in considerable amounts.
According to a second EU task force called CBRN-task force that shall prevent any abuse of toxic materials 440 chemicals and group
of chemicals like formaldehyde, ammonia, urea, bromine, chlorine and many other important chemicals.
The EU plans to pass those regulations in 2010. We should watch those activites and perhaps contact politicians and industry organizations
like the FECC (www.fecc.org) to stop this nonsense to regulate even milligram amounts of harmless research chemicals stricter
than anything else. Any such help would be appreciated.
Unfortunately I have bad news for holography in Europe. Some required material might become banned or a permission might
be required to purchase or own it if new regulations of the European Union are passed that are currently prepared. I think
this might be important for some users here as there is still some time to influence legislation.
Because of campaigns of a dubious German lobbyist company that tried to sell software for a government internet filter (like the filter used by the Chinese government) in 2004-2009 several German authorities started over 3000 house searches against persons that purchased chemicals.
This lobbyist abused the introduction of a stricter explosives law in 2003 (experiments to build a sparkler became a serious felony) for his
allegations all purchasers of chemicals would commit crime and circumvent the explosives law. He probably knew that German bureaucrats always fear any
circumvention of any law or regulation and try to introduce new measures to prevent such circumvention immediately if they hear something like that.
First all 1700 customers of two dealers were prosecuted that were denounced by the above lobbyist to "sell high-explosives to anybody by internet mailorder".
Although this thesis was obviously not true (those dealers sold only oxidizers like hydrogen peroxide and other common household
and laboratory chemicals) German authorities defined all chemicals (e.g. sodium carbonate, calcium fluoride or dichromates) sold by the above two dealers to be chemicals for the manufacture of explosives and German (and EU) authorities started to check other dealers that sold similar chemicals. Apparently German politicians of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats from 3 states (especially Schleswig-Holstein but also Northrhine Westphalia and Bavaria) asked police to start this razzia because the above lobbyist started to reproach the Secretary of State (Schily) with accusation of inactivity on TV.
I can perhaps post a list of those chemicals later. On those list for example silver and as far as I remember silver compounds are also mentioned.
In fact all German and even nearly all European internet-dealers that offer any chemicals were checked. Frequently a search-warrant against all their customers was issued if a dealer made any mistake in the application of the regulations for sale of chemicals. For example the purchase of a few gram sodium hydroxide and copper sulfate was sufficient for a search warrant in such a case. Many customers were even accused of alleged felonies and some were even convicted although they didn't violate any law or regulation because even expert witness was apparently manipulated by the superior administration - probably because the fear of German politicians to hear again those allegations Germany would be a bomb-maker paradise because purchases of some chemicals are
still allowed.
German authorities, especially the environmental authorities that regulate the sale of chemicals, then asked the government in 2006 to pass stricter
laws and regulations to introduce an even stricter monitoring of all sales and to insist that the European Union should ban even the sale of
smallest amounts of any oxidizer to the general public. Even industry should be denounced if the owner of a company might order material
for a private experiment and such a company should be put out of business because this would be a circumvention of regulations.
They also asked for a total ban of all CMR-chemicals such as dichromates as they fear they might be used for manufacture of
explosives, too. The so called BLAC government board already instructed dealers to deny any sale of CMR-chemicals (except for gasoline)
in spite of still existing exceptions in the regulations.
The new German laws and treaties to denounce all suspicious customers to the LKA police authorities were introduced in a hasty legislation in
spring 2008 after the so called "Sauerland-Gruppe" was discovered that bought large amounts of hydrogen peroxide
and industry was asked to apply them in advance.
Apparently the German government then asked the European Union to introduce a ban for oxidizers as the EU announced a plan for this
in 2006. In 2009 a list of top-priority chemicals that should be banned completely was presented to some industry organizations.
acetone, hexamethylenetetramine, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, all nitrates, chlorates, perchlorates,
and permanganates and all mixtures thereof were listed to be banned even in dilute solutions of 10-15%. Other chemicals like citric acid
shall be monitored and sold only to adults. They even wanted that suppliers should treat all small and medium-sized companies (SMB)
like potential terrorists! Now they apparently plan a system of permissions because of critic that it doesn't make
sense to regulate smallest amounts of potassium nitrate stricter than dynamite while industrial black powder is still availaible to the general public
in considerable amounts.
According to a second EU task force called CBRN-task force that shall prevent any abuse of toxic materials 440 chemicals and group
of chemicals like formaldehyde, ammonia, urea, bromine, chlorine and many other important chemicals.
The EU plans to pass those regulations in 2010. We should watch those activites and perhaps contact politicians and industry organizations
like the FECC (www.fecc.org) to stop this nonsense to regulate even milligram amounts of harmless research chemicals stricter
than anything else. Any such help would be appreciated.