Have you investigated the presence of decabromodiphenyl ether (DBD) in your product? Did your previous tests show that the sum of DBD and 1-9 bromodiphenyl ethers exceeded 1000 ppm? Are you aware that from July 1, 2008, products containing more than 1000 ppm of DBD and 1-9 bromodiphenyl ethers are not in compliance with EU RoHS? Please take immediate action to assess the situation, as the EU will remove the exemption for DBD on July 1, 2008.
On April 1, 2008, the European Court of Justice issued a notice stating that the European Commission had violated relevant regulations in exercising its powers regarding the exemption of decabromodiphenyl ether (DBD) under Directive 2005/717/EC, and therefore revoked the exemption for DBD in the RoHS Directive. However, considering the need for a transition period, the European Court of Justice allowed the exemption for DBD to be extended until June 30, 2008.
Previously, the European Commission adopted RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC, Article 10 of which states: "The European Commission shall evaluate the application of decabromodiphenyl ether in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 7(2)...". Subsequently, the risk assessment of decabromodiphenyl ether was undertaken by the UK and France, with the UK responsible for assessing its environmental impact and France responsible for assessing its human health impact. The UK completed its first assessment report in May 2004, and in August 2005, the UK published an addendum to the 2004 risk assessment report.
On October 13, 2005, the European Commission published Directive 2005/717/EC, which granted an exemption in Article 2 of Annex: "9a. Application of decabromodiphenyl ether in polymers".
Subsequently, the European Parliament and Denmark argued that the European Commission had adopted a controversial conclusion that did not comply with paragraph 5(1) of the RoHS Directive, thus exceeding the powers granted to them by the legislature. They also pointed out that the controversial conclusion regarding decabromodiphenyl ether failed to demonstrate compliance with paragraph 5(1) of the RoHS Directive. Furthermore, they argued that the Commission's adoption of these judgments contradicted the precautionary principle. They received support from other Member States in the European Court of Justice.
Finally, the European Court of Justice ruled that the exemption program published by the European Commission in 2005 contained procedural errors, and therefore revoked the exemption of Article 2, 9a of Commission 2005/717/EC for the use of decabromodiphenyl ether in polymers.
If you are a manufacturer or distributor of electronic or electrical products or components, you must carefully check and ensure that the content of decabromodiphenyl ether in your products does not exceed RoHS requirements during the export process to Europe.
