3. Current context

The legislative pressure to make industrial activities in the broadest sense cleaner is considerable in economic terms. It concerns greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which can damage the ozone layer, and the protection of workers against the long-term effects of daily exposure to harmful products, not to mention the consequences of REACH.

Composite materials are affected by all these measures in one way or another, and there is an ongoing debate about the most effective measures to be taken. As an initial response to this growing concern about the environmental, ecological and health aspects of work, the composites industry has embarked on a process aimed at reducing, or even eliminating, the manufacture of parts by the so-called "open mold" method. All things considered, composite activity has little impact on the overall emissions balance....