Atotech Deutschland GmbH

Postfach 21 07 80 · 10507 Berlin

Erasmusstraße 20 · 10553 Berlin
Tel +49 (0)30-349 85 -0
Fax +49 (0)30-349 85 -777
www.atotech.com

Atotech Deutschland GmbH • Postfach 21 07 80 • 10507 Berlin

Date

08.08.2014

Atotech Customer Information on REACH – update August 2014

5 cobalt salts proposed for restriction under REACH

Dear Customer,

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed cobalt dichloride, cobalt-(II) carbonate,
cobalt-(II) diacetate, cobalt-(II) dinitrate and cobalt-(II) sulphate for restriction under REACH
beginning of the year 2013.
Atotech is committed to provide leading sustainable technologies for reducing the environmental
footprint of the plating industry. We have in the past and are continuing to invest strongly in
extensive research programs to develop cobalt-free solutions. Currently we can offer the following
high-performance solutions:

− Gold processes: Alternative processes that use iron or nickel as alloying elements are
available. Existing Atotech processes either contain cobalt salts which are not proposed for
restriction under REACH (Aurocor HSC, Aurocor SC) or can be modified accordingly.

− EcoTri® NoCo, EcoTri NC, Unifix® Ni 3-30 L and Zinnifix 3 are a selection of our cobalt free
passivate portfolio for corrosion resistant coatings. Please see the annex of this document for
further products and information.
If you have further questions or require support, please do not hesitate to contact your personal
Atotech Sales Representative.

Best regards,

Atotech Deutschland GmbH

President: Reinhard Schneider

Company Headquarters: Berlin, HRB Nr. 51451
Tax Nr. DE 159 339 065
UniCredit Bank AG
Bank Code: 100 208 90; EUR Account Number: 9 336834
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What are the implications of the restriction in general?
Restriction is a process under REACH where conditions are placed on the manufacture, use or
marketing of a substance (by the European Commission). These conditions can for example restrict
substances to specific applications, concentrations and introduce transitional periods.
Whether the application of the 5 cobalt salts in surface treatment will be completely restricted or the
conditions of the restriction will allow a use, but under more stringent safety measures, is
completely unclear at present.
What is the expected timeline for the process?
In a first step a restriction dossier has to be prepared by ECHA within 12 months. This dossier is
then published for a 6 months public consultation period. Further 6 months later a decision should
be taken by EU Commission. In summary one can expect the entry into force of a law at the earliest
in July 2015. After that date usually a transitional period is granted for the industry to adjust to the
measures of the new law.

What will Atotech do?

At present there are no alternatives for some applications of cobalt in hard gold plating or corrosion
resistant coatings for specific applications.
Atotech will actively contribute to the restriction process for uses that are currently without
alternative. For this purpose we will closely work together with our suppliers and organizations like
the Cobalt Development Institute.
Please be assured that Atotech treats this topic with the required importance. Furthermore we will
inform you about important developments and news regarding this topic in due time.
Atotech’s dedicated REACH team does closely monitor the developments at ECHA and European
Commission level as well as from cooperation with industry associations allover Europe.

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Cobalt free passivates for corrosion resistant coatings