The RoHS Recast (RoHS2) FAQ document will seek to address many questions including, no doubt, the subject of CE mark requirements.
According to BIS Officials it should be available around June time and could well be a must not miss document.
As part of this review the product scope is expected to be widened, including new product categories that were previously excluded. Examples would include:
Category 7-toys leisure and sports equipment now includes "toys with minor electrical function" such as talking teddy bears.
Category 11 (new) -other electrical and electronic equipment includes "clothes with electrical function" including heated clothing and lifejackets.
Category 4-consumer equipment now includes "furniture with an electrical function" such as reclining beds and chairs.
Category 1- large household appliances now includes gas hobs, ovens and heaters as well as grills, water heaters and a wood or oil burning aga.
The study also includes analysis around RoHS concentration limits as concerns have been raised that they are too restrictive especially when applied to coatings and very small components. This could have a significant effect on industry, in particular manufacturers.
The consultation is on-going.
Directive Decoder
Currently there are 73 substances on the list but only 13 proposals expected to go forward for consultation around the end of February.
ECHA expects the number to be nearer the 100 mark by the end of the year.
Farnell has collected REACH information on around half a million products and found that approximately 0.5% of them contained an SVHC.
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Subject expert Trevor Wood looks at reasons behind having export controls, who makes the decisions behind the controls, which items are controlled and how, as well as other issues.
For simple registration follow the link:
Free Export Controls within the EU webinar
Directive Decoder
]]>The latest step saw the Implementation Rules of Voluntary Certification on the Pollution Control of Electronic Information Products which was adopted on 25 August and entered into force on 1 November 2011.
Also adopted on 25 August 2011 was the circular on the list of Electronic Information Products requiring Voluntary Certification (first batch) and any associated exemptions.
Other documents published recently refer to testing methods and threshold limits.
The various documents are still only officially published in Chinese with no other language generally available.
However, there is no doubt that REACH is a significant burden on industry. I can clearly remember an Official addressing a meeting of industry delegates and saying that REACH was "never meant to be a paper chase".
Well it's too late, despite the number of third party organisations offering to provide data on "thousands" of products.
Farnell has collected obligatory REACH information and, importantly, gathered safety data for its automated supply process, on around 440,000 products since the latest batch of SVHCs was published by ECHA in June. However, only around 1750 of them contain an SVHC.....around 0.4% of the total.
80% of these SVHCs were DEHP, often found in cable and a plasticiser in PVC. While considered low toxicity, DEHP can be detected in water, soil and food and is considered a widespread environmental contaminant.
However, there is little evidence to suggest there is a risk to human health although DEHP is no longer permitted in children's toys.
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Directive Decoder
]]>Backed by £5M of funding over two years the new Crime Agency will employ 90 new members of staff according to the ENDS Report.
According to the Agency there are 594 illegal waste sites in England and Wales - 215 in the South East, 99 in Yorkshire and the North East and 83 in the North West. The remainder are in East Anglia, the Midlands, the South West and Wales.
The new task force will work with councils, police, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions to bring criminals to justice.
More power to their elbow I say!
Directive Decoder
The European Chemicals Agency has submitted to the European Commission a recommendation that thirteen Substances of Very High Concern should in future not be used without authorisation.
These substances are all classified because of their carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (or a combination thereof) properties. They are used in applications where there is potential for worker exposure.
The protection of human health and the environment is at the heart of REACH. Making these thirteen Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) subject to authorisation seeks to ensure that their risks are properly controlled and that the substances are progressively replaced with suitable alternative substances or technologies.
The final decision on the inclusion of the substances in Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation will eventually be taken by the European Commission following the committee procedure with scrutiny. Then, as of a specific date (called "sunset date") substances on the Authorisation List can only be used within the EU for those uses for which an authorisation has been granted.
Source: ECHA
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]]>The study will include scope, category 11 products, definitions (such as large-scale fixed installations and homogeneous material) as well a review of costs and benefits.
For a comprehensive summary see below:
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]]>The EC has a target of 136 by the end of 2012.
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]]>Without prejudice to Article 4(3) and 4(4), Member States shall provide that EEE that was outside the scope of Directive 2002/95/EC, but which would not comply with this Directive, may nevertheless continue to be made available on the market until 22 July 2019.
So, one for the diary, the entire supply chain should be cleansed of non compliant (according to 2011/65/EU) product by 22 July 2019.
Directive Decoder
All 27 Member States must bring into effect by 2 January 2013
The Directive will apply to all electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) but split as follows:
§ Applies to the original 8 categories of the RoHS directive with medical devices and monitoring and control instruments phased in from 22 July 2014, in-vitro diagnostic medical devices from 22 July 2016 and industrial monitoring and control from 22 July 2017
§ A new category 11 to cover all EEE phased in by 22 July 2019, unless excluded. Exclusions would include such as military equipment, equipment designed to be sent into space, equipment designed and installed as part of other equipment not within scope, large-scale stationary industrial tools, large-scale fixed installations, means of transport, non-road mobile machinery for professional use, active implantable medical devices, photovoltaic panels and R&D equipment only available on a business-to-business basis
RoHS Recast.
China RoHS2 will move away from the previous Electronic Information Products format and cover Electrical and Electronic Products (EEP) with the same definition of scope as EU RoHS (equipment that works with a voltage range not exceeding 1500Vdc and 1000Vac).
On 16 July the Standard Product Catalogue for the Pollution Control of EEPs was published.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive that aims to make existing rules even tougher.
However, the crystal ball suggests that the second reading is unlikely to receive widespread approval and, as with the RoHS Recast, a series of trialogue meetings involving the European Parliament (EP), European Commission (EC) and Council of Ministers will have to thrash out a compromise.