Author Archives: Fern Abrams

California Adds Three Chemicals to the Prop 65 List

November 7, 2017 – 8:21 am

On October 27, 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added N,N‑dimethylformamide, 2‑mercaptobenzothiazole, and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) to the list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). Under Prop 65, companies are required […]

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EU Chemicals Agency Explains Reporting Requirements for Articles

November 6, 2017 – 4:14 pm

On November 2, 2017, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) hosted a webinar explaining the communication and notification obligations that EU importers, producers and suppliers of products may have when their articles contain Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). The webinar which included a discussion of communication and notification duties for complex objects and the pilot […]

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EU Circular Economy Initiatives — Possible Impact on Electronics Waste Management, Reuse and Recycling

October 23, 2017 – 9:25 am

The European Union (EU) is currently discussing new legislative and non-legislative initiatives aimed at establishing a Circular Economy. Their objective is to improve waste management, recycling, and reuse in Europe, in order to minimize the environmental impact of products, including electronics. These initiatives, once adopted, are likely to impact the electronics industry in different areas, […]

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Treasury Report Calls for End of Conflict Minerals Regulations

October 9, 2017 – 4:17 pm

The Treasury Department has called for scrapping corporate reporting requirements on conflict minerals and other topics. The department, in an October 6 report on growing the economy stated, “federal securities laws are ill-equipped to achieve such policy goals, and the effort to use securities disclosure to advance policy goals distracts from their purpose of providing […]

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European Parliament Approves Amendments to RoHS Directive to Facilitate Secondary Market Operations

October 4, 2017 – 2:31 pm

On 3 October, the European Parliament approved the review of the scope of the Directive on Restrictions of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS Directive). The Commission, the Parliament and the Council agreed in June on the text in inter-institutional negotiations. The amendments extend beyond the current 2019 deadline […]

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EU Launches Consultation on Three RoHS Exemption Requests

September 26, 2017 – 2:05 pm

The European Union has launched a stakeholder consultation on three new exemption requests. The online stakeholder consultation started on September 26, 2017 and will run for six weeks until November 7, 2017. It covers a request for the renewal of an existing exemption and two requests for new exemptions from the RoHS Directive: • Request […]

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EPA Schedules Webinars on LCSA Inventory Notification Rule

September 21, 2017 – 8:26 am

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled three webinars to assist the regulated community with reporting under the TSCA Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Rule, published in the Federal Register on August 11, 2017. This rule requires industry to report chemicals manufactured or imported in the United States over the past 10 years. Reporting is mandatory […]

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CPSC Votes to Ban Organohalogen Flame Retardants in Electronics Casings

September 20, 2017 – 1:11 pm

Today, on September 20, 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted, along party lines, to grant petition CPSC-2015-0022; Petition Requesting Rulemaking on Products Containing Organohalogen Flame Retardants (OFRs). The petition, which was filed by a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), asks the CPSC to ban the use of organo-halogen flame retardants in several […]

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EU Commission Launches Stakeholder Consultation on RoHS Exemptions

September 19, 2017 – 2:50 pm

Today, on September 19, 2017, the European Union (EU) Commission launched a four-week stakeholder consultation on DRAFT Delegated Directives for exemptions: • 6(a) Lead as an alloying element in steel for machining purposes and in galvanized steel containing up to 0.35% lead by weight • 6(b) Lead as an alloying element in aluminum containing up […]

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CPSC Hearing Reviews Petition to Ban Organohalogen Flame Retardants in Electronics Casings

September 18, 2017 – 2:40 pm

On Thursday, September 14, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) held a hearing on petition CPSC-2015-0022; Petition Requesting Rulemaking on Products Containing Organohalogen Flame Retardants. The petition was filed by a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) asking the CPSC to ban the use of organohalogen flame retardants in several products, including the (outer) plastic […]

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