Today was a very bittersweet day. We departed from Amsterdam around nine in the morning, and we boarded our bus heading straight to Nouryon, a chemical company located around an hour outside of Amsterdam.
Once we arrived at Nouryon, we started the meeting with an information session. We learned about the history of Nouryon and how the company evolved since the 1900s. We had also learned how Nouryon handles working with the European Union’s (EU) regulations. One of the people leading the information session stated that the United States does a better job at deciding a risk factor, whereas the EU puts higher regulations on chemicals because there is a potential hazard. She stated that only if there is a hazard and exposure, then there is a risk. So if nobody is exposed to a chemical, there is thereby, no risk. I thought this was interesting, and I wonder how Nouryon works with chemicals particularly those that work in food. I know Red 40 is a major debate in the United States right now, so I was curious on how Nouryon is working through that.
After the information session, we got to see some of Nouryon’s labs. I thought Nouryon’s total containment tank was super cool. It was a massive tank that was ready for any kinds of experiments. We were also shown some of the scraps experiments have left behind, and it was good to learn that Nouryon tries to recycle most of the waste they have.
Afterwards, we got to see more testing labs. It was very nice to learn that Nouryon tries to steer away from animal testing, and if they do end up testing their chemicals on fish, it is only to test mobility. While I would have liked to hear there was no animal testing, it sounded that Nouryon was making the gradual shift to no animal testing.
We then go to her about how biodegradable Nouryon’s products are. I was particularly interested in this. I learned that each chemical has to pass at least one of four tests, and if it fails the first it goes to the second, and so forth. Nouryon did a great job of explaining how Nouryon uses a circular economy and works to reuse old products instead of creating new ones. Nouryon also explained how they are progressing the economy of polymers, where they are focusing on creating recyclable polymers. I had also noticed on many of the workers’ boards inside the company, one of their top goals for 2025 was sustainability along with a few other goals like teamwork. I thought this was very impressive as it shows the company is progressing how sustainable it is not just to the public eye.
After seeing Nouryon, we headed to Rotterdam and called it a night. We were able to explore a little bit before heading to sleep, but I wish we could have seen more today. While I’m sad to leave Amsterdam, I’m excited to see the city of Rotterdam!
