Directive Decoder

MEPs have voted in favour of a RoHS "open scope" meaning that all electrical and electronic material would be covered by the legislation, unless specifically excluded. This is designed to achieve greater legal clarity than is afforded by the current rules, which take the opposite approach.

Also, some substances, including halogenated flame retardants and PVC, should undergo further assessment for safe use in electrical and electronic equipment.said Environment Committee MEPs.

Full press release

Directive Decoder

As part of the RoHS recast nanosilver and carbon nanotubes could be banned?

So, what are these?

I asked Dr Paul Goodman, Senior Chemist at ERA Technology, trading as Cobham Technical Services for his thoughts:

On 18 June the European Chemicals Agency added 8 further Substances of Very High Concern to the Candidate List for authorisation.

ECHA press release and substances

Directive Decoder

The European Parliament's environment committee met in Brussels on 2 June and agreed to put three substances that were facing an immediate RoHS restriction on a list of priority chemicals that will be reviewed later, with a ban a possibility.

Brominated and chlorinated flame retardants and PVC will be looked at later along with arsenic compounds and all chemicals, currently 38 of them, featuring on the REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for authorisation.

The vote on the RoHS recast by the full European Parliament has been put back to October. This allows time for alignment between the Environment Committee and the Council which will allow the final vote to move ahead (more) smoothly.

Directive Decoder

So Category 11 will capture all electrical and electronic equipment not captured in categories 1 to 10 unless "specifically excluded". So what is specifically excluded likely to mean?