EU Ban of Cadmium Extended to Articles of Plastic and Jewellery
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Commission Regulation 494/2011 was published in the Official Journal on 21st May 2011, amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 – REACH as regards item 23 (Cadmium) of Annex XVII. The new regulation extended the current ban of cadmium in products to cover articles of plastic and jewellery, and brazing fillers, which shall apply to products first place on the EU market from 10th December 2011.
Articles made of Plastic Materials
Under the new regulation, mixtures and articles made of plastic materials shall not be placed on the market if the concentration of cadmium (expressed as Cd metal) is equal to or greater than 0.01% by weight of the plastic material.
The new regulation also requires “recovered PVC” for building applications which may contain cadmium not more than 0.1% by weight of the plastic material to mark visibly, legibly and indelibly the words “Contains recovered PVC” or to bear the symbol as shown in the regulation.
Jewellery
Cadmium shall not be used in the following articles in concentration equal to or greater than 0.01% by weight of the metal:
- Metal beads and other metal components for jewellery making;
- Metal parts of jewellery and imitation jewellery articles and hair accessories, including:
o Bracelets, necklaces and rings;
o Piercing jewellery;
o Wrist watches and wrist-wear;
o Brooches and cufflinks.
Brazing fillers
Cadmium shall not be used in brazing fillers in concentration equal to or greater than 0.01% by weight. Brazing fillers are commonly used in brazing sticks that are used to join metal parts at temperature above 450°C for a small number of specific purposes, e.g. constructing model trains and cars. Brazing fillers used in defense and aerospace applications, and brazing fillers used for safety reasons are excluded.
For more information, please contact the HKSTC at
Tel: (852) 2666 1863 Fax: (852) 2663 9612 E-mail: tcd@hkstc.org.
The information contained in this newsletter is obtained from sources believed to be accurate to the best knowledge of the Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre. It is distributed without warranty, representation, inducement or license of any kind and the Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre does not assume any legal responsibility for use or reliance upon same.
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