BRUSSELS -- A consultant for the  European Union has identified more than 45 substances not currently covered by RoHS laws for possible inclusion in new draft rules expected to be ready next month.

The EU review of the RoHS Directive could lead to an expansion of the scope of covered substances and the list of covered electronics, industry sources say, and some current exemptions could be revoked.


The consulting organization, Öko-Institut e.V., has targeted 46 substances based on declarations provided by suppliers and manufacturers of electrical and electronics equipment, existing studies, XRF-analyses and other information. (The list is available at http://hse-rohs.oeko.info/index.php?id=3.)

The industry comment period deadline is March 28; comments must be sent to hse-rohs@oeko.info.

Final recommendations for each of the substances will be included in a new draft published by mid April, the organization said.

In an email, IPC director of environmental policy and government relations Fern Abrams said, "While it is impossible to draw any conclusions, it is interesting to note that the criteria of selecting these substances are similar to the REACH candidate list. The criteria were 'substances classified as CMR, PBT/vPvB or endocrine disruptors' and were drawn from Directive 67/548/EEC — which has been superseded by (incorporated into) REACH."

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