29 Sep Indian Bromine Platform’s initiatives towards a responsible tomorrow

In order to foster the bromine ecosystem in India, BSEF together with the India Chemical Council have developed India Bromine Platform (IBP). What is the importance of the platform and what are the benefits of such a platform?

Bromine is an essential and versatile chemical that has wide variety of applications contributing to society and economy like flame retardants, mercury emission control, pharmaceuticals, water treatment, energy storage among others. But given its nature, harnessing its potential requires care in terms of handling bromine at all stages of the value chain, including storage, transportation and usage.

BSEF and India’s bromine industry has recognised this important aspect and as part of the India Bromine Platform (IBP – a joint cross-industry initiative of BSEF, India’s bromine industry and the Indian Chemical Council, launched in 2019), has set up a dedicated safety working group to promote best practices for safe handling of bromine.

The safety working group comprises of professionals associated with bromine handling (plant and logistics level) across the IBP’s member firms, and the group in pursuing various initiatives, a few of which are highlighted below:

1. Creating a ‘Bromine Bluebook’ which contains best practices on bromine handling as a ready reckoner for the industry. It contains agreed standards and regulations one should follow while Packaging, Storing, Transporting, or using on premises. It also contains emergency response procedures in case of any exposure, spill, leakage and contamination incident
2. Creating of a standard safety checklist and translating it into multiple local languages to enable wider adoption across the length and breadth of India
3. Creating a safety video to enable easier dissemination of safety practices among key stakeholders
4. Organising safety workshops to share best practices and learnings

In addition to the above initiatives, the IBP members are also part of the ‘Nicer Globe’ programme run by the ICC that enables safe transportation of chemicals across the country.

Thus through such initiatives and involvement in improving the bromine safety practices in India, BSEF and India’s bromine industry are working together to establish a strong foundation for the bromine landscape in India.

To learn more about the India Bromine platform, please visit:
http://www.indianchemicalcouncil.com/indian-bromine-platform.htm