Directive 2011/65/EU was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 1 July 2011 and became law on 22 July 2011.
All 27 Member States must bring into effect by 2 January 2013.
The Directive will apply to all electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) but split as follows:
- Applies to the original 8 categories of the RoHS directive with medical devices and monitoring and control instruments phased in from 22 July 2014, in-vitro diagnostic medical devices from 22 July 2016 and industrial monitoring and control from 22 July 2017
- A new category 11 to cover all EEE phased in by 22 July 2019, unless excluded. Exclusions would include such as military equipment, equipment designed to be sent into space, equipment designed and installed as part of other equipment not within scope, large-scale stationary industrial tools, large-scale fixed installations, means of transport, non-road mobile machinery for professional use, active implantable medical devices, photovoltaic panels and R&D equipment only available on a business-to-business basis
- While no hazardous substances were added to the original six a priority assessment will be carried out within 3 years on HBCDD, DEHP, BBP and DBP.
- Article 6 proposes a REACH based methodology for identifying new substances for restriction. Any amendment to the list shall “be coherent” with REACH taking into account Annex XIV (authorisation) and XVII (restriction)
- The definition of “dependent” in the scope moves from “primary” function to “at least one intended” function so a gas cooker for example, previously out of scope, could be captured if it had an electric clock.
- The duration of exemptions changes to 5 years for categories 1-7, 10 and 11 and 7 years for categories 8 and 9 unless a renewal is applied for at least 18 months before the exemption expires.
- Finally, RoHS becomes a CE mark directive with a wide range of obligations that can impact the manufacturer, importer and / or the distributor. Requirements include a declaration of conformity, technical documents in line with Module A, CE marking the product, product identification and traceability, keeping technical documentation for 10 years and demonstrating compliance by testing or assessment in accordance with harmonised standards.
So in conclusion RoHS2 (or RoHS Recast) provides an improved procedure for conformity assessment, declaration of conformity and CE marking and aligns with other directives. It provides for the broader scope to be phased in over a long period and aims to align RoHS with REACH chemical policy ensuring a science based approach to substance restriction.
Expect EC guidance and FAQs around March 2012.
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