EU Commission kicks off the consultation to review additional substances for restriction in the EU RoHS Directive.  The final report and recommendations are scheduled for publication by November 21, 2013. Several high priority substances have already been identified: The flame retardants Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBP-A), Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), and the phthalates Bis (2-ehtylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), and Dibutyl phthalate (DBP).

The EU has added 13 substances to the SVHC Candidate List bringing the total to 84 substances which impose mandatory communication obligations for manufacturers, importers and distributors.  The substances are:  TEGDME; EGDME; Diboron trioxide; Formamide; Lead(II) bis(methanesulfonate); TGIC; ?-TGIC; Michler’s ketone;  Michler’s base;  dimethylammonium chloride (C.I. Basic Blue 26) [with ? 0.1% of Michler’s ketoneor Michler’s base];  dimethylammonium chloride (C.I. Basic Violet 3) [with ? 0.1% of Michler’s ketone or Michler’s base]; 4,4′-bis(dimethylamino)-4”-(methylamino)trityl alcohol [with ? 0.1% of Michler’s ketone or Michler’s base]; and ?,?-Bis[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-4 (phenylamino)naphthalene-1-methanol (C.I. Solvent Blue 4) [with ? 0.1% of Michler’s ketone  or Michler’s base]

Recast of the RoHS Directive (RoHS2) is published in the EU Official Journal.  The new conformity assessment and technical documentation requirements and revised scope take effect on January 2, 2013. For additional information on the changes introduced by RoHS2 please click here.

The Act provides broad obligations on manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure that products are safe, preparation and maintenance of documents, and mandatory reporting of incidents.

The added substances are: 2-ethoxyethyl acetate, Strontium chromate, DHNUP, Hydrazine, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, and DIHP. The candidate list now includes 53 substances.

The recast of the EU RoHS Directive had been delayed for the past several months due to legal concerns with the interpretation of some of the definitions in the proposal.  The European Council of Ministers formally approved the current draft on May 27, 2011 and the European Parliament approved minor changes to the draft that they had approved last November. These approvals allows RoHS-2 to move forward to publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

During a presentation to the Canadian IT industry, representatives of Environment Canada stated that they preparing a regulation to restrict the manufacturing and import of products containing polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs).

The European Union formally added six SVHC substances to Annex XIV of the regulation. The substances include the three phthalates (DEHP, BBP, and DBP), HBCDD, MDA, and musk xylene. The phthalates have been particularly heavily used in the electronics industry and is driving significant redesign efforts. Addition of these substances to Annex XIV is the final step in the SVHC process to drive elimination of the use of these substances in Europe.

Environment Canada has officially proposed a regulation that would restrict mercury, mercury compounds, and other substances in products. The “Regulations Respecting Products Containing Certain Substances Listed in Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999” is proposed to come into effect in 2012 and would initially impose restrictions, labeling requirements, reporting requirements and end-of-life management requirements on products containing mercury and mercury compounds. The proposal is a framework regulation that would allow additional substances to be restricted.

The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) has official added 8 substances to the SVHC candidate list, imposing immediate obligations on industry to declare these substances (as per REACH article 33). The substances include: Cobalt(II) sulphate, Cobalt(II) dinitrate, Cobalt(II) carbonate, Cobalt(II) diacetate, 2-Methoxyethanol, 2-Ethoxyethanol, Chromium trioxide, and Chromic acid, Oligomers of chromic acid and dichromic acid, Dichromic acid.