BRUSSELS -- The EU Commission has opened discussions for its latest round of requests for exemptions to the RoHS Directive.

A list of proposed exemptions is available here.

Among the requests: That all uses of lead in solders be exempted on the grounds that the replacements are more environmentally damaging than the leaded versions.

That request comes from RoHSUSA. It's not the first time it's been tried. According to John Burke, "It was first attempted by a company in New Zealand in 2004 in the first round of exemptions but was removed before public comment stage."

This may, however, be the last chance lead proponents have to make their case, he says.

Burke is preparing a form letter for those who wish to comment at the ROHSUSA Web site.