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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : Sub-file(A) to EIC 230/2/11

14 September 2011

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 548/2011

European Union (EU)* : Amendment to the Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 398/2011 of 6 July 2011, the European Commission (the Commission) has adopted a Decision to exempt certain uses of lead and cadmium from the requirement of the Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Details are set out in Commission Decision 2011/534/EU (the Decision). The Decision can be accessed through the following link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:234:0044:0045:EN:PDF

DETAILS

2. Commercial Information Circular No.70/2003 of 1 March 2003 informed the trade that from 1 July 2006, new EEE put on the market should not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls or polybrominated diphenyl ethers over certain prescribed levels. However, certain materials and components containing these hazardous substances can be exempted from the prohibition if the elimination or substitution of these substances is impracticable.

3. Considering that it is not yet technically practicable to substitute lead in PZT based dielectric ceramic materials for capacitors and cadmium in photoresistors for analogue optocouplers applied in professional audio equipment, the use of lead and cadmium in those substances should therefore be exempted from the prohibition. However, in view that research on cadmium-free technology is in progress and substitutes could be available within the next 3 years, the exemption for the use of cadmium in those photoresistors would be limited in time. For details of the exemptions, please refer to the Annex of the Decision.

ENQUIRIES

4. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,


 

(Miss Anita WONG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.





Note ：

  • (1) While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.
  • (2)The biweekly newsletter "Business Alert - EU" of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council provides up-to-date information on the latest developments in EU trade policy and trade regulations. The newsletter is available for free e-subscription and can be accessed through
    http://www.tdctrade.com/alert/eualert.htm.