COMMISSION DECISION
of 24 September 2010
amending, for the purposes of adapting to scientific and technical progress, the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards exemptions for applications containing lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls or polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(notified under document C(2010) 6403)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2010/571/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (1), and in particular Article 5(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Directive 2002/95/EC prohibits the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) put on the market after 1 July 2006. Exemptions from that prohibition are listed in the Annex to that Directive. Those exemptions need to be reviewed in order to adapt them to scientific and technical progress.
(2)
As a result of the review of the exemptions, certain applications containing lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium should continue to be exempted from the prohibition since the elimination of these hazardous substances in those specific applications is still scientifically or technically impracticable. It is therefore appropriate to maintain those exemptions.
(3)
As a result of the review of the exemptions, for certain applications containing lead, mercury, or cadmium the elimination or substitution of the use of those substances has become scientifically or technically possible. It is therefore appropriate to delete those exemptions.
(4)
As a result of the review of the exemptions, for certain applications containing lead, mercury or cadmium, the elimination or substitution of the use of those substances will become scientifically or technically possible in the foreseeable future. It is therefore appropriate to set expiry dates for those exemptions.
(5)
As a result of the review of the exemptions, for certain applications containing mercury, partial elimination or substitution of the use of that substance is scientifically or technically possible. It is therefore appropriate to reduce the amount of mercury that may be used in those applications.
(6)
As a result of the review of the exemptions, for certain applications containing mercury, in the foreseeable future only the partial and gradual elimination or substitution of the use of that substance is scientifically or technically possible. It is therefore appropriate to gradually reduce the amount of mercury that may be used in those applications.
(7)
In certain cases it is technically impossible to repair EEE with spare parts other than original ones. Therefore, in those cases only, the use of spare parts containing lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which benefited from an exemption, should be allowed in the repair of EEE, which was placed on the market before that exemption expired or was terminated.
(8)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 244/2009 of 18 March 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for non-directional household lamps (2) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 245/2009 of 18 March 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for fluorescent lamps without integrated ballast, for high intensity discharge lamps, and for ballasts and luminaires able to operate such lamps, and repealing Directive 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) provide for indicative benchmarks as concerns the use of mercury in lamps. Although the mercury content of lamps was identified as a significant environmental parameter in Regulations (EC) No 244/2009 and (EC) No 245/2009, it was considered more appropriate to regulate it in Directive 2002/95/EC, which covers also lamp types exempted from those regulations.
(9)
As a result of the analysis undertaken for measures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 244/2009, for certain applications containing mercury, partial elimination or substitution of the use of this substance is scientifically or technically possible without negative environmental, health and/or consumer safety impacts that outweigh the benefits of substitution. It is therefore appropriate to reduce the mercury content for those applications in line with Regulation (EC) No 244/2009.
(10)
It is necessary to make substantial changes to the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC. Therefore, for reasons of clarity, the whole Annex should be replaced.
(11)
Pursuant to Article 5(2) of Directive 2002/95/EC, the Commission has consulted the relevant parties.
(12)
Directive 2002/95/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.
(13)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 18 of Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4),
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 24 September 2010.