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The RoHS recast has been finalised and adopted by the Council of Ministers and the European Union.

The Council accepted the amendments previously adopted by the European Parliament late last year and the recast is now expected to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in July.

EU Member States have 18 months to transpose in to national law.

RoHS recast

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As expected, but somewhat slower than normal, it has been confirmed that 7 Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) will be added to the REACH Candidate List for authorisation.

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India has enacted the E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.

The Rules 2011 cover both the restriction of hazardous materials in electronic and electrical equipment, and also impose responsibility on producers, collection centres, consumers or bulk consumers, dismantlers, and recyclers.

The Rules, 2011 apply to every producer, consumer or bulk consumer involved in the manufacture, sale, and purchase and processing of electrical and electronic equipment or components, collection centre, dismantler and recycler of e-waste.

WEEE related provisions will enter into force on 1 May 2012, and RoHS related provisions will enter into force on 12 May 2013.

Source: Young and Global Partners (more to follow on this story).

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Concern was raised some years ago in the USA regarding the ethics of using materials sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the USA, particularly in the electronics manufacturing sector. The reason behind the concern was that the sale of this material by armed militias was funding the civil war in the region, leading to exploitation of, and the use of violence against the local population. In April 2009, a Congo Conflict Minerals Act was introduced in the USA, to require electronics companies to verify and disclose their sources, but this legislation died in committee.

In the aftermath of the Enron and other financial scandals in the USA, a major amendment to the Securities Exchange act of 1934 was formulated. This new law, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, was passed by the US Senate on 20 May 2010. Section 1502, generally referred to as the "Conflict Mineral Law", requires US companies to disclose the source of certain minerals in their product. The original 1934 act has been amended to include this text.

So how will these impact US businesses and those in Europe?

Follow the link for an exclusive update:

Conflict Minerals

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On 1 May 2011 the amended draft document on WEEE and RoHS in India was promulgated as the "e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011" by the Indian Government in New Delhi, and which will come into effect on 1 May 2012.  These Rules will apply to all those in the chain of supply and usage, from producers to dismantlers of EEE.  As had been expected, there is a considerable similarity with the EU WEEE and RoHS legislation - for example, batteries and Radio-Active Waste do not form part of these rules as they are dealt with under existing legislation.

However, there are some things to note about the legislation, and how it differs from the draft published in 2010.

The scope categories remain as "IT and Telecoms Equipment" and "Consumer Electrical & Electronics", but the list of items in each scope has now been made inclusive, in that the catch-all phrase " ... and other products or equipment .... " has been removed from the draft document.

As with the EU RoHS Directive, there are 39 substance use exemptions, however these do differ in that in some of them the applicable dates or levels are not defined as they are in the EU list.

With thanks to ERA Technology

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The WEEE recast proposes to reduce the 10 categories of the WEEE Directive to 5. So what are they?:

Fluorescent lamps, Screens (TVs, monitors), temperature control equipment (fridges and heaters), large household and small household equipment.

Large and small household may well be differentiated by weight but possibly size. This is still to be agreed.

Second reading negotiations will start later in the year with the recast not likely to enter into force until January 2014 at the earliest.

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On 20^th June 2011 ECHA updated the REACH Candidate List to include seven new Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) bringing the total to 53.

These substances are listed below

• 2-ethoxyethylacetate
• strontium chromate
• 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, di-C7-11 branched and linear alkyl esters (DHNUP)
• hydrazine
• 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone
• 1,2,3-trichloropropane
• 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid di-C6-8-branched alkyl esters, C7-rich (DIHP)

Some three and a half years late there finally looks to be movement on defining China RoHS.

Standards recently adopted will enter into force on 1 August 2011.

These include standards on the requirements for concentration limits of certain restricted substances in electrical and electronic products and standards on electrical and electronic products covering the measurement of six regulated substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in line with the scope of EU RoHS).

The UK negotiators will fight to reduce the cost burden of the WEEE Directive on the SME. While there was little support across Member States during the first reading (why on earth not?) it will be raised again when second reading negotiations commence later in the year.

At worst the second reading can only last four months.

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