EU Commission adopts new RoHS exemptions

The European Commission has adopted three new exemptions from substance restrictions, imposed through the EU Directive on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS2) in electrical and electronic equipment.They concern:

In Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU, point 39 is replaced by the following:

"39(a)	Cadmium in colour converting II-VI LEDs (< 10 μg Cd per mm2 of light-emitting area) for use in solid state illumination or display systems	Expires on 30 June 2017
39(b)	Cadmium in downshifting cadmium based semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots for use in display lighting applications (< 0.2 μg Cd per mm2 of display screen area)	Expires on 30 June 2018"

In Annex IV to Directive 2011/65/EU, the following point 41、42 are added:

"41	Lead as a thermal stabiliser in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used as base material in amperometric, potentiometric and conductometric electrochemical sensors which are used in in-vitro diagnostic medical devices for the analysis of blood and other body fluids and body gases.	Expires on 31 December 2018."
"42	Mercury in electric rotating connectors used in intravascular ultrasound imaging systems capable of high operating frequency (> 50MHz) modes of operation.	Expires on 30 June 2019."

 
The Commission adopted an extension of the exemption, which permitted the use of cadmium in colour-converting LEDs for illumination and display, until 1 July 2014. The EU executive says it should be extended until 30 June 2017.
 
The adopted exemptions and exemption extension have been sent to the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers, which have two months to oppose the measures. If there is no opposition from either institution, the legal acts introducing the exemptions and extension will automatically enter into force.
 
Meanwhile, four new requests for extensions, or amendments of other existing exemptions, have been submitted by companies to the European Commission. They are for:

No.	Proposed Wording	Date of Submission	Applicant
7b	Lead in solders for RF switching matrices and associated RF signal distribution equipment for telecommunications	10.11.2014	Quintech Electronics & Communications, Inc.
9b	Lead in bearing shells and bushes for refrigerant-containing compressors, with a stated electrical power input of only 9 kW or lower for the HVACR industry, with expiry date three years after the publication of the amended RoHS Annex	07.10.2014	Emerson Climate Technologies
13a	Lead in white glasses used for optical applications	07.10.2014	Spectaris
13b	Cadmium and Lead in filter glasses and glasses used for reflectance standards	07.10.2014	Spectaris

 
Stakeholder consultations are scheduled for March, according to Öko-Institut, which the European Commission has contracted to evaluate the exemption applications.

Lead in PVC sensors in in-vitro diagnostic medical devices
Cadmium in illumination and display lighting applications
Mercury in intravascular ultrasound imaging systems
Exemption extensions applications
 
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