RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU: Eight new exemptions published

On May 20, 2014, eight new RoHS exemptions with respect to lead and mercury have been published as Delegated Directives in the Official Journal of the European Union. The exemptions allow a higher threshold of substances restricted in Annex II of the Directive for specific uses in electrical and electronic equipment. Two exemptions will be included into Annex III of the Directive (general application) and six exemptions will be included into Annex IV (medical devices and monitoring and control instruments). EU member states that included the list of exemptions into their national legislation (not linked to the Annexes of the Directive directly) will have to update the list accordingly. Within the new RoHS Directive, exemptions that have no specific date of expiration expire after five years (general application) or seven years (medical devices and monitoring and control instruments) if no extension is applied for. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2014:148:TOC