If you”™re not part of the solution, as the saying goes, you”™re part of the precipitate. And in a global economy, it pays to know what”™s in both and whether the chemical equation will fly in Germany and Italy.
Stamford resident Barbara Vogt has started a consultancy business in response to new regulations in the chemical industry adopted by the European Union.
Vogt established Tox Focus L.L.C. to provide advice on how to contend with the new standards, which run more than 800 pages.
"Now is the time to launch a new business like mine,” said Vogt. “I’ve always wanted to do my own business."
Vogt has a doctoral degree in toxicology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and has worked for the past eight years as a toxicologist for Clairol Products and more recently at Cytec Industries heading a team to determine how to prepare for the European regulations.
The new European Union policy, which started June 1, is called the Regulation Evaluation Authorization of Chemicals, or REACH. It requires chemical companies to make safety information public on 30,000 chemicals.
The new rules apply to any chemical company doing business in Europe.
"A manufacturer must know how its chemicals are being used downstream,” said Vogt. “We’re not sure exactly what all the exposures are."
According to a spokesperson for a Norwalk-based chemical company these regulations are some of world’s more aggressive regulatory decisions regarding chemicals.
Vogt is directing her services to small- and mid-sized chemical companies that may not have the in-house staff to address the standards.
Vogt has developed a network of professionals in the industry that she can use in her consultancy, and she said she expected eventually to hire a small staff as the demand for her services grows. Â
According to Vogt, her business will grow and parallel the "green" movement. She hopes to gain business as pressures cause American industries to adopt more rigid environmental standards.
