The Council of the European Union revised the RoHS directive on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This will extend protection from dangerous chemicals to more electrical appliances and improve the safety of products such as mobile phones, refrigerators and electronic toys: the ban will now in principle apply to all electrical and electronic equipment as well as to cables and spare parts.
The law also obliges the Commission to regularly review and adapt the list of restricted substances according to a number of criteria. This means that further substances in electrical and electronic equipment may be banned in future. Photovoltaic panels to produce energy from solar light do not have to comply with the restriction. Energy-saving light bulbs are also temporarily exempted from the directive.
The revised act will enter into force shortly after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and must be transposed into national law within 18 months.
Source: Council of the European Union
