Which EU legislation currently regulates the use of brominated flame retardants?
You will find below an outline of the European legislation that concerns brominated flame retardants (BFRs). For further information on how each of these legisations are applied with regards to BFRs please visit the European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel's (EBFRIP) website.
REACH
On 18 December 2006, the Council of Ministers adopted a new EU regulatory framework for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). REACH aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment while maintaining the competitiveness and enhancing the innovative capability of the EU chemicals industry. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) was launched on 1st June 2008, and is formally responsible for the operation of REACH. Since the Launch of ECHA, Council Regulation (EEC) 793/93 on Existing Substances has been revoked and replaced by the REACH legislation (Regulation EC No 1907/2006).
Entering into force in June 2007, the REACH regulation places specific responsibilities on producers, importers and users of chemical substances in Europe. These responsibilities include:
-
Registration of substances produced in or imported to the EU in quantities of one ton or more per year.
-
Analysis of chemical impact on the environment and human health.
-
Informing the supply chain on the chemicals produced.
RoHS
The RoHS Directive stands for "the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment". This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of six substances - lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. The RoHS Directive came into force on 1 July 2006 (2002/95/EC).
Please go to the European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel’s (EBFRIP) website for more information on the RoHS Directive and brominated flame retardants.
WEEE
The EU’s Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) 2002/96/EC ) aims to increase the recycling and recovery of electrical waste from unsorted waste in Europe through mechanical recycling, feedstock recycling and energy recovery. The financial responsibility for collecting, recycling and re-using E&E waste is carried by manufacturers. The Directive requires the removal of plastics containing brominated flame retardants and of printed circuit boards from E&E equipment prior to recovery and recycling. An EU guidance document (insert to link to doc) to assist EU Member States in the implementation of the WEEE interprets the requirement to remove as meaning to ensure the “environmentally safe treatment”. The EU guidance document specifically states that “brominated flame-retardants should be treated in downstream recovery or in thermal/metallurgical treatment processes with appropriate off-gas treatment or may be disposed (of) in licensed landfills”. This means that plastics containing brominated flame retardants do not need to be subject to separation as long as they are suitably treated in environmentally-sound recovery or disposal operations. The WEEE Directive came into force on 1 December 2003 and is currently being revised by the EU with no change foreseen with regard to the elements of the Directive regarding brominated flame retardants.
Please go to the European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel’s (EBFRIP) website for more information on WEEE Directive and brominated flame retardants.
Water Framework Directive (WFD)
The Water Framework Directive (WFD), which entered into force in December 2000, establishes a Community framework for water protection and management. Its main focus is the establishment of a strategy for dealing with chemical pollution of water.
The Directive identified a priority list of 33 substances in the field of Water Policy. Out of the 33 substances included in the WFD some will be monitored or reviewed for identification as potentially hazardous substances, while others were identified as hazardous substances to be phased out in 20 years. Octa-BDE & Deca-BDE are listed among the substances to be monitored, while Penta-BDE is the only BFR listed as a hazardous substance. No other BFR is listed.
Please go to the European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel’s (EBFRIP) website for more information on Water Framework Directive and brominated flame retardants.
