Non-RoHS-compliant electronic toys found on Danish shelves; RoHS Directive set to become tougher
Studies carried out by Northern Europe's environmental agencies have found that documentation, which evidences compliance with the law banning hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS), may be false or illegal. A study that was carried out by the Danish Environmental Agency last year has concluded that lead, which is severely restricted in equipment covered by the RoHS Directive, was found in the solder material of three different toys, one of which included a remote-controlled helicopter. This was so, despite comprehensive assessment reports on all three products showing that they complied with RoHS.
Hong Kong's exporters to the EU of electrical and electronic goods including toys will already be familiar with the stringencies of the RoHS Directive, which has sought to restrict six hazardous substances since 1 July 2006 in the products covered by it, if placed on the market anywhere in the EU. The six substances are lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Sample testing on 24 electronic toys led to a finding of contamination, due to lead in the solder, of the three individual toys. Despite the RoHS Directive providing for a number of exemptions, none of the exemptions applied to the contaminated toys.
Although the illicit products have been removed, environmentalists fear that the RoHS Directive's requirements may not be met in many more cases, including where companies' documentation indicate compliance. With millions of electrical appliances on the EU market, surveillance and enforcement efforts by the Member States' authorities is greatly strained, leading to the possibility of false or wrong claims of RoHS compliance being made, undetected, by sellers throughout the EU.
In another investigation, the Nordic authorities had carried out a survey of 152 electronic products, of which around 20 were found to be non-compliant. Examples of non-compliance included electric glue guns in which the nozzle contained an excess of lead. These were said to be imported from mainland China and resulted in a prosecution due to lead in solder and in plastic. The Nordic authorities are also understood to have identified some instances of RoHS non-compliance within bigger brand companies.
While the RoHS Directive may already be placing onerous obligations on Hong Kong's exporting producers, they should be warned that it is currently undergoing revision, in order to make it even tougher. On 3 December 2008, the European Commission presented a proposal for a recast RoHS Directive, with several provisions likely to be of direct relevance to Hong Kong's electrical appliance manufacturers.
The substances that are currently restricted will not change, but there are additional so-called priority substances, each of which will have to be assessed by the Commission, with a view to eventually adding them to the list of substances to be restricted under RoHS. The priority substances in the proposed new RoHS Directive are Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and Dibutylphthalate (DBP). Thus, although not banned at this time, Hong Kong sellers may eventually see these substances added to the RoHS-list of restricted substances. Other new obligations will be imposed on producers (see: Business Alert-EU, Issue 1/2009 for a summary report of the proposed new Directive).
The European Parliament will vote on the proposed new RoHS Directive once its environmental committee draws up a draft report, which could happen in the coming months (although it is likely to be discussed only after the new European Parliament is elected, post-June 2009). Once the text is agreed with the Council of EU Ministers it will be adopted, and then implemented in the Member States. Such implementation is expected to occur 18 months after the new Directive's publication in the EU's Official Journal, affording Hong Kong sellers some time to adjust to the ever-greater stringencies.
_200068.jpg "HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) 60x60_image")
