Statement Regarding RoHS Compliance

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HMG Paints' Statement Regarding RoHS Compliance

17/04/2012 09:28:32

Statement Regarding RoHS 2 and WEEE Compliance

RoHS stands for the “restriction on the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment”.

The original Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is referred to as RoHS 1 and the recast Directive 2011/65/EU is referred to as RoHS 2.
Directive 2011/65/EU entered into force on 21st July 2011 and required Member States to transpose the provisions into their respective national laws by 2nd January 2013. The RoHS 2 Directive is part of the European Union's horizontal waste management legislation.
RoHS 2 is a European directive aimed at the control and use of certain hazardous substances in the manufacture of new electrical and electronic equipment.

The RoHS 2 Directive restricts the use of six substances as listed below:

1) Lead (0.1%)
2) Mercury (0.1%)
3) Cadmium (0.01%)
4) Hexavalent chromium (0.1%)
5) Polybrominated biphenyls (0.1%)
6) Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) (0.1%)

These six chemicals were originally listed in the RoHS 1 Directive; however four more substances have been proposed:

● Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) (a brominated Flame Retardant)
● Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) (a commonly uses plasticizer)
● Butyl benzyl phthalate (BPP) (a commonly used plasticizer)
● Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) (a commonly used plasticizer)


There are some exemptions for the use of these hazardous substances and they can be divided into three groups:

I) Equipment and products this directive does not apply to, in Article 2 Point 4 (page L174/91) and Article 4 Points 4 and 5 Page L174/93

2) General exemptions listed in Annex III (pages L174/101 to 105)

3) Exemptions specific to medical devices and monitoring and control instruments in Annex IV (page L174/106)

There are also permissible maximum concentration limits (as listed above) that allow for trace amounts of these substances.


There are key differences between RoHS 1 and RoHS 2 in the following areas:

1. Scope - A gradual extension of the requirements to all electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), cables and spare parts with a view to full compliance (except some exclusions4 that are explicitly stated in Article 2(4)) by 22nd July 2019; a clarification of important definitions (Article 3); provision for a review of the scope no later than July 2014

2. Restriction of new substances - A methodology for the assessment of new hazardous substances in EEE with a view to restriction mainly based on waste-related criteria; a review of the list of restricted substances carried out by the Commission by July 2014, and periodically thereafter; an opportunity for Member States to propose new substance restrictions;

3. Exemptions - A clearer and more transparent rules for granting, renewing or deleting exemptions; obligation of manufacturers to apply for exemptions and to carry out the necessary assessment.

4. Coherence with other EU-Legislation - New Legislative Framework (CE marking and Declaration of Conformity); and Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

In the UK RoHS regulations apply to those businesses defined as producers that:

• manufacture or assemble electrical or electronic equipment in the UK
• import electrical or electronic equipment from outside Europe
• re-badge electronic products as their own brand.

Further information can be obtained from the following websites:
www.gov.uk/rohs-compliance-and-guidance & www.ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/rohs_eee/pdf/faq.pdf

As surface coatings manufacturers we do not come under these regulations as we do not produce and sell electrical equipment, however HMG products could be used in electrical equipment, so we understand there can be a need to determine if our products are RoHS2 compliant.

Ultimately HMG Paints Limited do not have a legal responsibility to provide RoHS statements or test reports, but these can be arranged if required. If test reports are required there would be a cost associated with the necessary independent testing. Furthermore testing of our paint products still does not guarantee RoHS compliance of the final saleable item as HMG products may very well be compliant, but other material used by the electrical equipment manufacturer may not.

HMG Paints Limited has set up a system to identify the presence of any substances listed in the RoHS directive provided by our raw material suppliers, and we have also compiled a list of non-compliant raw materials. HMG Paints Limited do not purposely add Hexavalent Chromium, Mercury, Cadmium, PBB and PBDE to our products, but we do use Lead Chromate products that obviously contain lead and chromium, and we also use zinc containing products that can contain small amounts of cadmium. So to minimise the possible risk of using any of our products containing non-compliant materials customers should only order “lead-free” products and also avoid using “zinc-rich” primers, again individual products can be independently tested, but this would incur additional costs.

The fact that HMG Paints Limited do not purposely add non-compliant materials does not also guarantee RoHS compliance, ultimately it is the responsibility of the electrical equipment manufacturer to ensure compliance through testing on the final product/components.

HMG Quality Assurance Department
June 2015

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