18 Jun BSEF member companies initiatives to combat Covid-19

The chemical industry has been playing an essential role during the COVID-19 crisis.

Chemical companies and leading organisations have been playing a major role in ensuring the production and the supply chains for products, such as disinfectants and health equipment, essential for combatting COVID-19 as well as the value chains comprising those products.

COVID-19 severely attacks the lungs and respiratory system. For this reason, treatment centres must be equipped with ventilators to save lives. With cases increasing globally, with the high hospitalisation rate from COVID-19 and a shortage of ventilators, the production and use of new materials production has increased.

Flame Retardants play a key role in electronic equipment.

In general, electrical devices require electricity and connections to computers. These electrical devices must abide by flame retardant standards for electrical equipment, and brominated flame retardants in order to meet fire standards and avoid fire incidents that may occur from overheating, short circuit or some other.

Understanding their responsibility, BSEF members have also been involved with multiple actions.

For example, Lanxess has donated one million litres of disinfectant solution to 13 countries worldwide to save lives in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

ICL Group has launched a “Stay stronger” campaign to ensure the safety of its employees around the world by maintaining frequent communications with its global teams in these challenging times.

ICL have also made donations to help construct an isolation unit to treat patients with COVID 19 at the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, Israel. In addition, ICL donated 1,000 N95 masks, 2,500 protective suits and thermometers to the National Dashboard, Maccabi Hospital and Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.

Albemarle Corporation, for example, have produced 5,300 gallons of disinfectant in Germany in response to the critical shortage of hand sanitizer for local hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices and others.

Tosoh has also participated in the combat to Covid-19 by producing 12 million tons of disinfectant. In addition, Tosoh has begun the development of a new pneumonia test kit to detect new coronaviruses within about 50 minutes using gene amplification technology.