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EU Exempts Deca-BDE from RoHS |
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Written by Mike Buetow
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Monday, 17 October 2005 |
BRUSSELS -- The EU has exempted the flame retardant known as Deca-BDE from the Directive on the
Restriction of Hazardous Substances, following
an intensive review.
Germany's EPA is opposing the move.
The EU published its decision -- the final
step in the RoHS regulatory procedure for adopting exemptions -- on
Oct. 15. This means Deca-BDE can continued to be used.
The Commission’s decision was based on a 10-year EU risk
assessment which evaluated 588 studies and concluded that the use of
Deca-BDE does not pose health or environmental risks.
The decision
is in line with the majority opinion of EU Member States which by a two-to-1 margin voted last month to exempt Deca-BDE.
Deca-BDE is a brominated flame retardant used to prevent
ignition and slow the spread of fires in the plastic components of
electrical and electronics equipment, as well as in the textiles and
transportation industries.
The move is opposed by the German
Federal Environmental Agency ("Umweltbundesamt" or UBA). In a press statement, the UBA said that lifting the ban on Deca-BDE would
send the wrong signal to industry. Many manufacturers, according to the
UBA, have already voluntarily switched to substitutes and an exemption
for Deca-BDE would render their investments worthless.
The
UBA has argued that Deca-BDE should be prohibited based on its
properties, including its persistence and alleged dioxin and furan
release upon combustion. Further, there are substitutes for Deca-BDE
in all areas of its application, the UBA argues.
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