Major electronics manufacturers support the revised draft of the RoHS Directive - adding new restrictions on BFRs and PVC
No. 10/ 2010
Consumer electronics giants Dell, HP, Sony-Ericsson, and Acer recently issued a joint statement with three environmental organizations, calling for restrictions on the use of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in electronic and electrical products in the revised EU RoHS Directive.
The three environmental organizations that issued the statement alongside the four electronics giants are the International Chemistry Secretariat (ChemSec), the European Environment Agency (EEB), and the Clean Products Action (CPA). They jointly called on the European Parliament's Environment Committee to pass restrictions on BFRs and PVC in the vote on the draft amendments to the RoHS Directive. The vote will take place on June 3, 2010.
In her remarks, Alexandra McPherson, a partner at the Clean Products Action (CPA) organization, emphasized that these companies have "made efforts" to prove that hazardous substances can be replaced, and what is needed now is a level playing field. Last week, the International Chemistry Secretariat (ChemSec) published a report demonstrating that products free of these hazardous substances are already widely available in the EU market.
Joint statement from the four companies:
Acer: "The elimination of environmentally sensitive substances (such as BFRs and PVC) has begun and is progressing smoothly at Acer. However, we cannot achieve the same level of efficiency across the entire supply chain on our own alone, and the development of relevant legislation will help this process. Through legal restrictions, we can ensure the implementation of the entire supply chain, reduce costs, and effectively develop safer alternative materials."
Dell: "Dell supports including BFRs and PVC in the RoHS restricted substances list and imposing full restrictions on these substances in 2015. Given the current discussions within EU institutions regarding RoHS revisions, we hope EU policymakers will revise the RoHS directive to prohibit the use of PVC and BFRs in electrical and electronic equipment."
HP: "HP is working with suppliers around the world to remove these chemicals from our PC product line. Through our scientific evaluation of alternatives, we have found that safer alternative materials do exist. We support the inclusion of these restrictions in the revised RoHS Directive."
Sony-Ericsson: "Sony-Ericsson is committed to completely eliminating organohalides from its products and has almost completely stopped using BFRs at this stage. We firmly believe that the electronics industry has a responsibility to take proactive steps to find alternatives to BFRs and PVC, and therefore we urge the EU to vote for a stricter RoHS directive."
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Leading Electronics companies and Environmental organisations urge EU to restrict more hazardous substances in electronic products
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