Update of UK RoHS
The British version of the Restriction of The Use of Certain Hazardous Substances was recently published.
Several day ago, the United Kingdom published the Draft Statutory Instrument: The Restriction of The Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2021.
These measures will amend the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2012 (“the RoHS Regulations”) as they apply in England and Wales and Scotland.
The article 2(2) of the Regulation will amend the list of restricted substances in Schedule A1 to extend the restriction on the use of four restricted substances (Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and Disobutyl phthalate (DIBP)) to medical devices and monitoring and control instruments. The article 2(3)(b) will grant a new exemption from the list of restricted substances in Schedule A1 to the RoHS Regulations by adding certain lead compounds and one hexavalent form of chromium (barium) to be used in the supply of electric and electronic initiators of explosives for civil explosives. The exemption will be granted for a period ending on 20th April 2026.
After Brexit, a monitoring of British product regulations became even more important. So far, they corresponded almost 1:1 with the EU product regulations. However, with the course of time, UK may decide to go its own way and discrepancies between EU and UK product regulations and standards may appear.
