“The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2005” were Laid before Parliament on 7th October and will come into force on 1st July 2006. The Regulations implement the EC Directive that effectively bans the use of mercury, lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and two families of brominated flame retardants – polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) – in new equipment from 1 July 2006.

Products covered by the legislation include household appliances, IT and telecommunication equipment, consumer electronic products, power tools, toys, lighting and vending machines. Spare parts sold after July 2006 are excluded.

The maximum concentration values permitted for the presence of the banned substances in components or materials will be 0.01% of total weight of equipment for cadmium and 0.1% for the other substances.

The Regulations will require an Amendment take account of the European Commission’s decisions, announced after the regulations were issued, to exempt deca-BDE from the ban and to agree additional exemptions for certain uses of lead and cadmium.

The new Regulations can be accessed from: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20052748.htm.

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk (accessed 11/11/05)

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