Environment and health: electrical and electronic equipments WEEE, restriction of hazardous substances RoHS

Of the 9 amendments that were adopted by the European Parliament, 8 were accepted by the Commission in full. These include the following: -A new recital on spare parts for re-use and refurbishment; -Adaptation of the directive should take into account all scientific evidence; -The exclusion of re-used equipment and components from the scope of the directive; -Clarification that a reseller should not be regarded as the producer if the name of the producer appears on the equipment; -fixing the phase-out date for lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBBs and PBDEs to 01/01/06; -Exclusion of repaired equipment and spare parts from the application of the substance bans; -Possible design changes must be taken into account in the further evaluation of the annex -The list of substances covered by the directive should be reviewed with particular attention to the impact on the environment and on human health of other hazardous substances and materials. On the question of Member States introducing prohibitions prior to 01/01/06, the Commission feels that it is important to clarify that a decision can only be made on the basis of a Commission proposal and in accordance with the principles set out in the Chemicals Strategy, and has proposed wording to this effect.�