NEWS

Consultation on exemptions from the substance restrictions in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS 2)

On 19 August 2013, a new stakeholder consultation commenced, concerning five exemption requests under recast Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (“RoHS 2”).

This consultation covers 5 RoHS exemption requests:
— lead as thermal stabilizer in Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) used as base for substrates in amperometric,
    potentiometric and conductometric electrochemical sensors;
— "Cadmium in color converting II-VI LEDs (< 10 μg Cd per mm2 of light-emitting area) for use in
    solid state illumination or display systems" (this is a request for a renewal of an existing exemption
    that is set to expire on 30 June 2014);
— lead in solders used in boards of heart-lung machines;
— mercury used in high speed rotating electrical connectors (slip ring) with electrical conduction
    paths that have sealed liquid mercury, molecularly bonded to the contacts;
— cadmium in light control materials used for display devices.

All relevant documents relating to the consultation can be accessed via the following link:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/rohs7_en.htm.