According to recent news, the EU is considering banning the use of chromium from 2024. The reason for this decision could be the toxic emissions resulting from this process, which can lead to major health problems, including cancer.

The EU states that emissions from chrome production are hundreds of times more toxic than CO2 emissions from diesel engines. This could be reduced by using special substances, however, these substances are also toxic.

Although chrome is used less and less in the automotive industry, the decision to ban its production could pose a problem for owners and restorers of classic cars. Therefore, companies that still produce chrome parts will switch to trivalent chromium, another method of decorative chrome plating which is considered the environmentally friendly alternative to hexavalent chromium, which is not so toxic.

So far, there is no official confirmation of such a decision, nor when, if it is made, it will start to be applied. However, the ban on covering decorative parts will surely come into force soon. This will not be the first time that a government has banned the use of chrome. For example, in California, that measure was voted starting from 2027, while the ban on industrial use will be from 2039.

Source: Autocar