The European Commission’s attempts to plug the so-called “control system loophole” in the RoHS Directive are not likely to come into effect before 2008 and could be delayed until 2010.

This potential loophole has caused confusion amongst some firms which are still unclear whether it puts their products outside of the legislation, which comes into force in just two weeks. It now seems likely that any change will not happen before 2008 at the earliest.

The Commission is undecided on the status of medical and control systems which currently are classified in categories 8 and 9 and fall outside the lead-free rules of the RoHS Directive.

It is unclear whether the EC will finally decide to review its position on the medical and control system categories.

“It is by no means certain that ERA will recommend inclusion of the two categories. And it is by no means certain that the Commission will make any such legislative proposal,” said a source in Brussels.

Even if it decides to plug the loophole, administrative procedures mean that any changes cannot come into force before 2008 at the earliest. More realistically it could be 2009 or even 2010.

“Any legislative proposal would come out in 2008 at the earliest, according to the Commission,” confirmed the Brussels source.

A UK-based consultancy is reviewing all the options and will make its recommendations in the next few months. 

The review is looking at categories 8 and 9 which refer to medical equipment and monitoring and control instrumentation. These categories currently lie outside the scope of the RoHS Directive which makes a wide range of electronic and electrical products candidates for exemption from the rules.

Last month, the National Weights and Measures Laboratory, which has the job of enforcing the Directive in the UK, published its guidelines for companies. 

See also: Electronics Weekly's RoHS Directive and UK RoHS regulation, a roundup of content related to the RoHS Directive.