The EU needs to get rid of the increasing legislative overlaps and inconsistencies

between REACH and the updated restriction of certain hazardous substances

(RoHS2) in electrical and electronic equipment Directive, says the European

Engineering Industries Association (Orgalime).

In a position paper entitled Ensuring a truly complementary, coherent, and consistent

implementation of REACH and RoHS2, the organisation sets out the difficulties faced

by manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in trying to comply with

these two pieces of legislation.

These are generated by “legislative overlaps and inconsistencies [that are] ever more

imminent as REACH and RoHS2 implementations progress especially in two areas,”

it states. The most troublesome areas are, according to Orgalime:

1.existing and potential new restrictions on the use of certain substances in EEE and

the related preparatory substance evaluation processes in RoHS2 and REACH;

2.and the obligation on EEE manufacturers to seek REACH authorisations in addition

to RoHS exemptions for the same substances in the same products and processes.

Welcoming the Commission’s acknowledgement in the REACH Review of such problems

and its commitment to “minimise and avoid overlaps,” Orgalime calls on the EU executive

to now improve communication between regulators and industry (CW 7 February 2013).

This could be achieved by a common guidance document of all affected Commission

services and greater inclusion of all stakeholders throughout the implementation of RoHS

and REACH, ideally through the creation of a roundtable, states the paper.

Orgalime would also like the Commission to offer “increased legal certainty for companies

on what procedure, process, rules and criteria will apply” in different cases. It says that steps

to achieve this could include the following:

-one commonly accepted scientific and technical evaluation for each substance that is valid

for both REACH and RoHS;

1.Risk Management Options (RMOs) on a standard basis in REACH annex XV dossiers as

well as in member state proposals for RoHS substance restrictions following article VI of RoHS;

2.making an RoHS restriction proposal equal to a REACH annex XV dossier;

3.taking a risk-based approach based on the whole life cycle of a product.

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