Effective July 6, 2021, Fujifilm has announced that Velvia 100 will no longer be available in the United States. This announcement comes as an alert on Fujifilm’s website citing that the EPA finalized a rule stating that the chemical, phenol isoproylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), as a toxic substance. As a result, trace amounts of PIP (3:1) have been found in Velvia 100 and all commercial distribution will cease immediately.
According to the announcement, the EPA will start enforcing this ban on September 5, 2021, barring commercial processing and distribution of any product containing this toxic chemical. However, Fujifilm has made the decision to proactively discontinue commercial distribution of the slide film effective immediately despite the trace amounts (.0003%) that pose no risk to the environment.
According to the EPA language, this ban includes commercial photo labs, barring Velvia 100 to be processed after September 5, 2021. While Velvia 100 is an E-6 film, this does not mean the E-6 process is banned. Other E-6 films such as Kodak’s EKTACHROME and Fujifilm’s other slide film, Provia 100F and Velvia 50, are still considered safe for commercial processing.
Currently, this is only for Fujifilm FUJICHROME RVP 100 films distributed in the United States and does not apply to Provia 100F or Velvia 50.
For additional information, please visit the Fujifilm Velvia 100 website.
Bill Manning
Host and Executive Producer for Studio C-41
Consider supporting Studio C-41 by visiting our affiliates!
You must be logged in to post a comment.