BANNOCKBURN, IL — A US trade group yesterday launched a campaign to convince the environmental agencies and governments of Germany and Sweden to keep Tetrabromobisphenol(a) (TBBPA) legal in electronics products.

In a press release, IPC asked members in those countries to push their legislators to "resist the urge to ban" the common flame retardant, which is said to be used in more than 80% of the world’s PCBs. In doing do, IPC points to several studies, including a recent EU Risk Assessment, that have found TBBPA not harmful to the environment or human health.

The trade group is taking up the fight as discussions of proposed revisions to the RoHS Directive proceed among members of the European Union Council, Germany and Sweden’s environmental agencies are calling for the restriction of TBBPA under RoHS — a substance not currently on the list of proposed restrictions. 

Germany’s federal environmental agency, Umwelt Bundes Amt, has called for restricting TBBPA under the RoHS Directive. Likewise, Swedish chemicals agency Kemikalieinspektionen is said to be influencing that nation's outlook on TBBPA.

The European countries are said to be basing their stance on a report published last year by the Öko Institut, a consulting group contracted by the EU to study RoHS and the WEEE Directive. IPC has publicly denounced Öko's findings, calling them " faulty and unscientific."

IPC, which accepted without a fight previous bans on common materials used in electronics manufacturing, such as lead, is this time taking a different tack. 

"As we continue to monitor global environmental activities, it is imperative that we engage the support of IPC members in affected regions," said Fern Abrams, IPC director of environmental policy and government relations. "We continue to lobby governments directly, but we also recognize that government officials respond best to companies located in their country. Our strategic advocacy efforts are always strengthened with the active support of industry members.”

 

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