The separate but related RoHS Directive ('the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment'), bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. The aim is to make electrical equipment easier and safer to treat and recycle when they become waste.
The UK Regulations came into force on 1 July 2006. The latest DTI guidance aims to help understand what the Regulations mean for business.
The National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) is the UK’s RoHS enforcement body.
What does it mean for producers?
Since 1 July 2006 new electronic and electrical equipment must contain no more than the permitted levels of:
· Lead
· Mercury
· Cadmium
· Hexavalent chromium
· Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs)
· Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs)
Levels are 0.01% for cadmium and 0.1% for all other substances per weight of homogenous material.
The Regulations apply to all WEEE categories except large-scale stationary industrial tools, medical devices, monitoring and control instruments, or spare parts for the repair or upgrade of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) sold before 2006. Schedule 2 of the Regulations set out further exemptions to specific applications of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and PBDE.
As a producer you must keep technical documentation or other information that demonstrates your products- and the components and subassemblies pf such product- are RoHS compliant for a period of four years after the EEE is placed on the market. You may be asked to submit this information to the enforcement authority to demonstrate compliance.
Latest developments
The commission recently launched a review of the RoHS Directive. A Commission document sets out the key issues under consideration. These include:
· extending the ban on dangerous substances in electronic products to other chemicals;
· extending the scope of the directive to include medical devices and monitoring and control;
· a fuller separation of RoHS from the WEEE Directive;
· a review of the exemption criteria;
· a review of key definitions;
· wider exemption for spare parts, to prevent premature disposal of equipment; and
· a new mechanism for producers to demonstrate compliance with the law.
Legislative proposals for full consultation are expected in 2008, followed by a revised Directive by 2010.