Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
Date: 2000-06-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, electronic equipment, industrial waste, waste disposal, waste recycling

19.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 365 E/195

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restriction of the
use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment

(2000/C 365 E/13)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2000) 347 final (cid:16) 2000/0159(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 28 July 2000)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) The disparities between the

laws or

administrative
measures adopted by the Member States as regards the
restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical
and electronic equipment could create barriers to trade
and distort competition in the Community and may
thereby have a direct impact on the establishment and
functioning of the internal market. It therefore appears
necessary to approximate the laws of the Member States
in this field.

(2) The objectives

the Community’s
environment policy are, in particular, to prevent, reduce
and as far as possible eliminate pollution.

and principles of

the

(3) The Commission Communication of 30 July 1996 on the
review of
for waste
Community
management (1) stresses the need to reduce the content
the
of hazardous substances in waste and points out
potential benefits of Community-wide rules limiting the
presence of
and in
production processes.

such substances

in products

strategy

(4) The Council Resolution of 25 January 1988 on a
Community action programme to combat environmental

invites

pollution by cadmium (2)
the Commission to
pursue without delay the development of
specific
measures for such a programme. Human health also has
to be protected and an overall strategy that in particular
restricts the use of cadmium and stimulates research into
substitutes
implemented. The
Resolution stresses that the use of cadmium should be
limited to cases where suitable and safer alternatives do
not exist.

therefore

should

be

(WEEE) as set out
the European Parliament and of

(5) The available evidence indicates that measures on the
collection, treatment, recycling and disposal of waste elec-
in
trical and electronic equipment
Directive . . . of
the
Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment are
necessary to reduce the waste management problems
linked to the heavy metals concerned and the flame
(PBB) and poly-
retardants polybrominated biphenyls
brominated diphenyl ether
those
measures, however,
significant parts of WEEE will
continue to be found in the current disposal routes.
Even if WEEE were collected separately and submitted
to recycling processes, its content of mercury, cadmium,
lead, chromium VI, PBB and PBDE would be likely to pose
risks to health or the environment.

In spite of

(PBDE).

(6) Taking into account technical and economic feasibility, the
most effective way of ensuring the significant reduction of
risks to health and the environment related to those
chosen level of
substances which can achieve
protection in the Community is
the substitution of
those substances in electrical and electronic equipment
by safe or safer materials.

the

(7) The substances covered by this Directive are scientifically
well researched and evaluated and have been subject to
different measures both at Community and national level.

(8) The measures provided for in this Directive take into
account existing international guidelines and recommen-
dations and are based on an assessment of available
information. The measures are
scientific and technical
necessary to achieve the chosen level of protection of
human and animal health and the environment, having
regard to the risks which the absence of measures would
be likely to create in the Community. The measures
should be kept under review and, if necessary, adjusted
to take account of available technical and scientific
information.

(1) COM(96) 399 final.

(2) OJ C 30, 4.2.1988, p. 1.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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(9) This Directive

should apply without prejudice

to
Community legislation on safety and health requirements
and specific Community waste management legislation, in
particular Council Directive 91/157/EEC of 18 March
1991 on batteries and accumulators containing certain
substances (1), as amended by Commission
dangerous
Directive 98/101/EC (2).

(10) The technical development of electrical and electronic
equipment without heavy metals, PBDE and PBB should
be taken into account.

(11) Exemptions from the substitution requirement should be
permitted if substitution is not possible from the scientific
and technical point of view or if the negative environ-
mental or health impacts caused by substitution are likely
to outweigh the human, animal and environmental
benefits of
the substitution. The health and safety of
users of electrical and electronic equipment should also
not be jeopardised by the substitution of the hazardous
substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

(12) Since the measures necessary for the implementation of
this Directive are measures of general scope within the
meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of
28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise
of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (3),
they should be adopted by use of
the regulatory
procedure provided for in Article 5 of that Decision,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

This Directive

to
3.
Community legislation on safety and health requirements and
specific Community waste-management legislation.

apply without

prejudice

shall

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) Celectrical and electronic equipmentD means equipment
which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic
fields in order to work properly and equipment for the
generation,
transfer and measurement of such currents
and fields and designed for use with a voltage rating not
exceeding 1 000 Volts for alternating current and 1 500
Volts for direct current;

(b) CproducerD means any person who manufactures and sells
electrical and electronic equipment under his own brand,
who resells under his own brand equipment produced by
other suppliers or who imports that equipment on a
professional basis into a Member State.

Article 4

Prevention

1. Member States shall ensure that with effect
from 1
January 2008 the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent
chromium,
poly-
brominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in electrical and electronic
equipment is substituted by other substances.

polybrominated

biphenyls

(PBB)

and

Article 1

Objectives

2.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the applications of lead,
mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium listed in the
Annex.

The purpose of this Directive is to approximate the laws of the
Member States on the restrictions of the use of hazardous
in electrical and electronic equipment and to
substances
contribute
and
to the
disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

sound recovery

environmentally

Article 2

Scope

Article 5

Adaptation to scientific and technical progress

1.
Any amendments which are necessary in order to adapt
the Annex to scientific and technical progress for the following
purposes shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 7(2):

1.
This Directive shall apply to electrical and electronic
equipment falling under the categories set out in Annex I A
to Directive . . . [on waste electrical and electronic equipment].

(a) establishing, as necessary, maximum concentration values
up to which the presence of the substances referred to in
Article 4(1) in specific materials and components of elec-
trical and electronic equipment shall be tolerated;

2.
Article 4 shall not apply to electrical and electronic
equipment falling under categories 8, 9 and 10 of Annex I A
to Directive . . . [on waste electrical and electronic equipment].

(1) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991, p. 38.
(2) OJ L 1, 5.1.1999, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(b) exempting materials and components of electrical and elec-
the
from Article 4(1)
tronic equipment
substances
referred to therein in those materials and
components is technically or scientifically unavoidable or
where the negative environmental and/or health impacts
caused by substitution are likely to outweigh the environ-
mental benefits thereof;

the use of

if

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from the Annex if

(c) deleting materials and components of electrical and elec-
the
tronic equipment
substances referred to in Article 4(1)
in these materials
and components is avoidable, provided that the negative
environmental and/or health impacts caused by substitution
do not outweigh the possible environmental benefits
thereof.

the use of

2.
Before the Annex is amended pursuant to paragraph 1,
the Commission shall consult producers of electrical and elec-
tronic equipment.

Article 6

Review

By 31 December 2003 at the latest, the Commission shall
review the measures provided for in this Directive to take
into account, as necessary, new scientific evidence.

Article 7

Committee

The Commission shall be assisted by the committee

1.
instituted by Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC (1).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the regulatory
procedure laid down in Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall apply, in compliance with Article 7 and Article 8 thereof.

The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision

3.
1999/468/EC shall be three months.

Article 8

Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the law, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 30 June 2004 [18 months after the date of
immediately inform the
adoption] at
Commission thereof.

the latest. They shall

2. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall
contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by
such a reference on the occasion of their official publication.
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
text of all
regulations and administrative
provisions adopted in the field covered by this Directive.

existing laws,

Article 9

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Article 10

Addressees

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Applications of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium, which are exempted from the requirements
of Article 4(4)

ANNEX

F Mercury in compact fluorescent lamps not exceeding 5 mg per lamp

F Mercury in straight fluorescent lamps not exceeding 10 mg per lamp

F Mercury in lamps not specifically mentioned in this Annex

F Mercury in laboratory equipment

F Lead as radiation protection

F Lead in glass of cathode ray tubes, light bulbs and fluorescent tubes

F Lead as an alloying element in steel containing up to 0,3 % lead by weight, aluminium containing up to 0,4 % lead

by weight and as a copper alloy containing up to 4 % lead by weight

F Lead in electronic ceramic parts

F Cadmium oxide on the surface of selenium photocells

F Cadmium passivation as an anti-corrosion in specific applications

F Cadmium, mercury and lead in hollow cathode lamps for atomic absorption spectroscopy and other instruments to

measure heavy metals

F Hexavalent chromium as an anti-corrosion of the carbon steel cooling system in absorption refrigerators.