Electronics industry affected by major developments in European legislation

On 22nd July 2011, the long-anticipated "RoHS 2" or "RoHS Recast" Directive 2011/65/EU entered into force, having been published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 1st July. RoHS 2 brought with it several important changes to the original RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC. All 27 Member States must bring their national regulations into effect by 2nd January 2013. RoHS aims to reduce the amount of restricted substances used in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), by placing maximum permitted values on six substances. Mercury, Lead, Hexavalent Chromium, Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Polybrominated Biphenyls cannot be present in concentrations over 0.1% by homogenous material. Cadmium cannot be present in concentrations over 0.01%. The scope of RoHS was originally split into eight indicative product categories , but these have increased to 11 in the scope of RoHS 2. Medical devices (category 8) and monitoring and control instruments (category 9) will be phased in from 22nd July 2014. Furthermore, in-vitro diagnostic medical devices will be phased in from 22nd July 2016, and industrial monitoring and control equipment will follow from 22nd July 2017. One significant change within RoHS 2, was the introduction of a category 11 "open? scope which is due eight years after the recast was published in the Official Journal of the EU (July 2011) and will be phased in by 22nd July 2019. This new category will include all products not captured in categories 1 to 10, unless specifically excluded. Underpinning all of this is a change of definition within the scope of RoHS 2. Originally, EEE was defined as "dependent on electric current or electromagnetic fields for its primary function?, with the word "primary? being of most importance. RoHS 2 changes the definition to EEE "dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to fulfil at least one intended function?. So for example, a gas cooker with an electric clock, previously out of scope, would now be captured by category 11. However, there are several exclusions including military equipment, means of transport, photovoltaic panels and research and development equipment only available on a B2B basis. The existing four year exemption review period has been replaced by the automatic expiry of exemptions, unless they are renewed. Categories 1 to 7 and 10 will be valid for a maximum of five years, whilst categories 8, 9 and 11 will be valid for seven years. Applications for renewal must be made at least 18 months before the expiry date. The Commission must make a decision on the renewal application, no later than six months before the expiry date. In addition, the rejection of a renewal application shall not take effect until at least 12 months, and no later than 18, after the date of the Commission decision. Article 5 of RoHS 2 introduces a process by which EEE applications can benefit from an exemption of a substance restriction according to defined criteria, such as when a substitution of the substance is scientifically impracticable. When RoHS 2 comes into effect for all 27 EU Member States on the 2nd January 2013, all products put on the market on or after this date and which are in the scope of RoHS will be subject to CE obligations. The same obligations will also apply to currently excluded parts once they fall within scope, for example when an exemption expires. Typical CE requirements requested as part of the "goods package? within RoHS 2 are designed to verify that products meet required CE marking and documentation requirements. These include undertaking audits, producing declarations of conformity, technical files, product CE marking and product labelling. Within three years of the original entry into force (or by 22nd July 2014), an impact assessment and review of RoHS 2 scope (including restricted substances) will take place. Depending on the outcome of the review and assessment, the scope may be altered with further restricted substances and exclusions proposed. Four substances (HBCDD, DEHP, BBP and DBP) have already been highlighted for priority assessment. The approach to the review and assessment has been documented in Article 6 of RoHS 2, which advocates a change in assessment methodology making it similar to that of the REACH Regulations. According to this, any amendment to the list of restricted substances under RoHS shall "be coherent" with REACH taking into account Annex XIV (authorisation) and XVII (restrictions). The UK Government is particularly satisfied with RoHS 2 as it provides an improved procedure for conformity assessment, declaration of conformity and CE marking and better aligns with other directives. It provides a broader scope to be phased over a long period allowing for workable change. Finally, it aligns RoHS with the wider EU chemicals policy under REACH, ensuring a scientific approach to the substance restriction of EEE. Another major development in European legislation affecting the electronics industry is that of "WEEE 2" or the "WEEE Recast". The aim of the WEEE Directive is to minimise the generation of electrical and electronic waste by the promotion of recycling, re-use and recovery, thereby reducing the overall level of waste produced. The original WEEE directive 2002/96/EC set a separate collection target as a blanket requirement of 4kg per inhabitant per year across all 27 Member States of the EU. As WEEE is a minimum requirements rather than single market directive, each Member State has translated the directive into local legislation to account for local circumstances and that has resulted in 27 similar but ultimately differing sets of requirements. In December 2008, the European Commission published new WEEE proposals for consideration by the European Parliament and the European Council. Since that time, discussions have been on-going in an attempt to reach agreement on a final text. Changes under debate in WEEE 2 include changing the collection target from 4kg per inhabitant per year to a percentage figure based on sales. The Commission originally proposed a target of 65% of EEE placed on the market (as an average of the previous two years) by 2016, but the Council has proposed phased-in targets of 45% of EEE placed on the market (as an average of the previous three years) by 2016, to be increased to 65% by 2020. Parliament has taken a different approach with a target of 85% of WEEE generated or arising in a year, by 2016. Important to note is the distinction between EEE and WEEE in the proposals. In contrast to the Commission (who wanted to retain the existing ten categories of EEE), proposals from both the Council and Parliament have asked for an „open? scope, where any EEE is included in the scope of WEEE, unless specifically excluded. In addition, both the Parliament and Council have proposed that the existing ten WEEE categories be reduced (to five in the opinion of the Council and six by the Parliament) to help broaden the scope and be more in line with national collection practices. The summer of 2012 is currently the most likely publication date of WEEE 2 in the Official Journal, which would mean the new requirements entering into force from January 2014. However a considerable amount of negotiation and compromise is still required before that would be possible. Free BIS RoHS and WEEE Roadshows in the UK BIS are running a series of free informative half day events around the country where you can find about these changes and how they will affect you. For more information and to book a place at a seminar in your area, please visit http://www.bis.gov.uk/roadshows. If you need advice on electronics legislation relating to your business, post your question in this forum and I will be happy to look into it for you.