The European Commission has sent out WTO TBT notices for two RoHS exemptions.

The first exemptions is a new exemption for Cadmium anodes in Hersch cells

In Annex IV to Directive 2011/65/EU, the following point 43 is added:

“43. Cadmium anodes in Hersch cells for oxygen sensors used in industrial monitoring and control instruments, where sensitivity below 10 ppm is required. Expires on [OP, please insert, as concrete date, 7 years after the date of entry into force of this directive].,

The second exemption narrows the scope of the existing exemption Annex IV(26):

In Annex IV, point 26 is replaced by the following:

’26. Lead in the following applications that are used durably at a temperature below –20°C under normal operating and storage conditions:

– (a) solders on printed circuit boards;
– (b) termination coatings of electrical and electronic components and coatings of
printed circuit boards;
– (c) solders for connecting wires and cables;
– (d) solders connecting transducers and sensors.

Lead in solders of electrical connections to temperature measurement sensors in devices which are designed to be used periodically at temperatures below –150°C. These exemptions expire on 30 June 2021.’

On December 2, 2015, China published guidelines for responsible mineral supply chains. The guidelines were developed in cooperation between the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers & Exporters (CCCMC) and the OECD. The guidelines align with the OECDs due diligence guidelines on conflict minerals and will initially be voluntary. The announcement of the guidelines was made at the 2015 International Workshop on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains held in Beijing, China.

Requirements of a Belgium regulation that requires manufacturers and importers to register chemical products containing nanomaterials came into effect starting January 1, 2016. Existing substances produced in nanoparticle state were to be registered by January 1, 2016. Manufacturers and importers of chemical mixtures containing a substance produced in a nanoparticle state have an additional year to register – until January 1, 2017. Additional information on the Belgium regulation and the registration process are available on the nanoregistry portal.

In response to the anticipated restriction of PFOA, the DigitalEurope industry group is proposing an exemption for spare parts across all industries.

Earlier in 2015, ECHA’s Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (SEAC) recommended a restriction on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related substances due to the substances’ persistence, bioaccumulation and toxic (PBT) properties. As part of the recommendation, SEAC noted that a car spare parts exemption proposed by the German Association of Car Manufacturers and the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) is justified. DigitalEurope is proposing for an exemption for other industries, arguing that the rationale and justification is the same for EEE products as it is for automotive.

On December 17, 2015, ECHA published an update to the “Guidance on requirements for substances in articles”. The guidance document removes all of the interpretation and examples that contradict the September 2015 European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the interpretation of article as it relates to calculating SVHC content above 0.1% (w/w).  The removed guidance includes any reference to calculating SVHC content based on the weight of an entire product as imported into the EU.  It now simply refers to “every article” without consideration for products that are manufactured from multiple articles. The following is a relevant excerpt from the new guidance document:

As concerns the obligations to communicate information on substances in articles in general (i.e. communication with recipients and consumers), please note that:

• The substance concentration threshold of 0.1% (w/w) applies to every article supplied. This threshold applies to each article of an object made up of more than one article, which were joined or assembled together;
• There is no tonnage trigger for these obligations (i.e. they also apply below 1 tonne per year);
• The obligations also apply to articles which were produced or imported before the substance was included in the Candidate List and are supplied after the inclusion. Thus, the date of supply of the article is the relevant date;
• The substance name to be communicated is the one appearing on the Candidate List for authorisation.

ECHA plans to provide, in 2016, a more thorough revision of the guidance including new examples that are aligned with the ECJ ruling.

For additional information on developing or assessing a REACH SVHC compliance program, contact ECD Compliance.

The new guidance document is available at http://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/13632/articles_en.pdf