UV+EB Technology
The 2020 RadTech Fall Meeting was held online this year, in the format of three Zoom meetings on consecutive Thursdays in the month of November.
On Thursday, November 5, the focus was on the association, with a RadTech Member Update and the kickoff of RadLaunch 2021. President Eileen Weber led the event with a discussion about the impact of COVID-19 on RadTech membership and the UV/EB industry as a whole. Attendees also received information on upcoming events for RadTech, including tentative plans for a virtual BIG IDEAS! Conference in the Spring of 2021. Managing Editor Dianna Brodine provided an overview of UV+EB Technology magazine distribution and an update on the current status of the editorial board. RadTech’s new Young Professionals (YP) committee was introduced, and the RadLaunch 2021 contest kickoff was announced, with short presentations from several past winners. Winners of the 2021 RadLaunch contest will be announced with an online ceremony in February 2021.
On November 12, the focus was on the 3D Printing Committee. The opening presentation was by Tom McKeag from The Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry. His talk described some of the recent work by the UC Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry to address human and environmental health challenges in the field of additive manufacturing, and how integrating hazard assessment of the materials used into the research, design and development process can lead to innovation and value. The committee also reviewed the webinars that have been done recently and discussed potential activities to promote 3D printing and additive manufacturing virtually in 2021, including a potential multiple-speaker event. In addition, the committee reviewed a new publication from NIST, documenting the photopolymer additive manufacturing workshop late last year, and discussed opportunities for future directions for research and development work through a partnership between NIST and RadTech.
On November 19, the RadTech Sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety committees teamed up to present the latest RadTech efforts to develop new initiatives to document the sustainable benefits of UV/EB and how the curing technology fits in the circular economy. An overview of federal and AQMD regulatory initiatives impacting UV/EB also were reviewed, with a focus on US EPA in terms of trends in new chemical registrations and the outcomes from those efforts. Also discussed was a continuing concern from Europe’s risk assessment committee regarding a study on TMTPA monomer and its classification as a likely human carcinogen Class 2, which has since been rebutted.
RadTech International North America hopes to bring the industry together again face-to-face in 2022. In the meantime, virtual events will keep members and interested industry parties up to date on new developments and advances in UV/EB technologies and applications.