BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC on Tuesday issued a statement supporting the use of scientific-backed evaluations of potential restricted substances and their alternatives.

The trade group also reiterated its stance against a proposed unilateral ban on brominated flame retardants.

IPC said it issued communications to European Parliament members last week in support of the adoption of proposed RoHS Directive amendments numbers 197 through 203. The amendments support the use of rigorous scientific methodology to evaluate additional restricted substances and alternatives.

It took the opportunity to remind the EP that many of the substances slated to be banned have been used safely for years.

“While supporting amendments 197 through 203, IPC has taken exception to other proposed RoHS amendments that would ban all brominated flame retardants without a scientific evaluation because they will provide neither environmental nor human health benefits,” says Fern Abrams, IPC director of environmental policy and government relations.

Abrams noted that while some BFRs, such as Polybrominated Biphenyls, have been identified as toxic, restricted under the RoHS Directive, and voluntarily withdrawn from the market, other BFRs, such as Tetrabromobisphenol-A, have been safely used in electronic products for decades.

The World Health Organization and the European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks conducted separate scientific assessments of TBBPA; both groups found TBBPA to be safe for human health and the environment, according to IPC.