BNST Use in Electrical and Electronic Products
As of March 14, 2015, the importation of products into Canada containing lubricants that use BNST as an additive will no longer be legal unless the importer has a permit from Environment Canada. BNST, a common abbreviation for the substance Benzenamine, N-phenyl-, Reaction Products with Styrene and 2,4,4-Trimethylpentene, provides benefit in lubricants as a antioxidant, corrosion inhibitor, scavenger, and anti-scaling agent; therefore, eliminating the BNST can impact performance and long-term reliability which needs to be carefully assessed during substitution. The substance is effective in improving reliability but is also toxic to human health and the environment.
The BNST ban has been a major challenge for the electrical, electronics and automotive industries; particularly any products that contain motors and sliding mechanisms that use lubricant. For example, BNST lubricants were commonly used in many brands of computer hard disk drives (HDD). It may also be used in motors in HVAC equipment to improve reliability. BNST is not currently listed on the EEE industry standard (IEC 62474) declarable substances list (DSL) which has caused a lack of visibility and declaration of the substance down the supply chain. (Note: BNST will be added to the IEC 62474 DSL during the next update cycle (late March).
Many EEE manufacturers throughout the supply chain started re-designing products with BNST-free lubricants in 2014, but some of the design changes will not be completed until 2015. Many downstream manufacturers and importers have been learning about the use of BNST in their product just recently. They may also have large inventory of parts and products that may contain BNST, creating logistical challenges. In some cases, manufacturers are also having difficulty in obtaining confirmation from their supply chain as to whether BNST is used or not. Spare parts that are in inventory and may no longer be in production will be a particular challenge for many organizations. Environment Canada has suggested that manufacturers and importers should use a conservative approach in such situations when it’s not possible to confirm that the product is BNST-free.
Additional background information on the BNST Regulation in Canada is provided in our previous article “BNST Restriction in Lubricants Takes Effect in Two Months“.
BNST Permits / Foreign Manufacturers
The Canadian Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 anticipated that it may not be possible to eliminate BNST for all products and it provides a mechanism for manufacturers and importers to obtain permits for up to an additional three years if requirements specified in the Regulations are met. If your organization needs additional time to eliminate BNST or to confirm it’s absence, obtaining a permit for March 2015-March 2016 can help reduce business risk and avoid customer issues.
Permit applications must be submitted by the Canadian manufacturer or the importer.This creates a challenge for U.S. or other foreign manufacturers that sell products to several Canadian importers. There is no mechanism in the regulations for a foreign manufacturer to obtain a permit (e.g. through an only representative as would be the case in the EU) and then have the permit available to downusers importers. However, there is a workaround. A foreign manufacturer may compile a group BNST permit application on behalf of its downstream importers. In this way the manufacturer is supporting their customers by off-loading the permit application process. This ensures that they can continue their business operations without interruption (once the permit is granted).
Obtaining a BNST Permit as Quickly as Possible
The key to expediting a BNST permit application is to ensure that all of the information needed by Environment Canada to assess and grant the permit is provided in the application. Environment Canada cannot issue the permit if any of the permit requirements specified in the regulation are not met. If Environment Canada needs to request additional information, the process will be delayed.
The official BNST permit application processing time is 60 business days; however, Environment Canada has been able to process applications in signfiicantly less time when complete information is provided during the initial submission and is in a format that is easy to assess.
The permit application requires information on BNST use in products, sales data, sales forecast data, customer information and justification for continued use of BNST. Environment Canada has provided interpretation and guidance on some of these requirements which can help simplify the data collection. Also, confidential business information can be protected by using a slightly modified submission process.
ECD Compliance can assess your situation and quickly compile the permit application with the necessary information. The permit application can be compiled and submitted within a few days and will leverage our experience with the industry supply chain and the efforts underway to design out BNST. We have successfully worked with the electronics, HVAC, and automotive industries on BNST requirements and permits. If you are a foreign manufacturer that would like to submit a permit application for your importers, utilizing ECD Compliance as an independent third party can be ideal to protect your importers’ confidential information.