BANNOCKBURN, IL – The European Parliament has decided to drop its demands for a list of new priority substances for restrictions under the RoHS Directive.

The list of four substances for priority assessment, also identified as “substances of very high concern” under REACH, was originally proposed by the EU Commission.

Parliament also dropped a demand for a revised RoHS Directive to contain a ban on nanosilver. In a compromise with member states, it opted for the mention of a future priority review of nanosilver.

All products will be covered eight years after the Directive enters into force.

In June, the Parliament's environment committee voted to expand the list to include almost 40 substances. These substances included BFRs, such as TBBPA, the most common flame retardant used in PCBs, despite the fact that TBBPA as used was found to be safe for human health and the environment by the World Health Organization and the European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks. 

Trade groups praised the decision. “Specifically mentioning entire classes of substances in a priority list would unfairly stigmatize them as being harmful to human health and the environment without a sound scientific basis,” said IPC in a press release today.