05/09/2007
The Danish EPA has just issued two reports which support Denmark’s case against the decision of the European Commission to lift the ban on the brominated flame retardant, deca-BDE. Deca-BDE is used widely to prevent fire in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), such as TVs, computers and kitchen appliances. The substance may accumulate in the environment and is suspected of causing foetal malformation and cancer. The two reports show that good alternatives to deca-BDE exist.

With the Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS Directive), the European Parliament and the Council originally introduced a ban on several flame retardants, including deca-BDE. This decision was based on the precautionary principle. The ban on deca-BDE should have entered into force on 1 July 2006, but the Commission chose to revoke large parts of it before then. This is an obvious violation of the Commission’s power according to Denmark, which is backed in its case by the European Parliament, Sweden , Finland , Portugal and Norway .

According to the RoHS Directive, a ban can only be revoked if 1) there are no chemical or technical alternatives to the substance, or 2) if the disadvantages of the alternatives for the environment, human health and consumer safety outweigh the advantages. The two new reports by the Danish EPA support Denmark ’s claim that these criteria are not met. One of the reports states that technically acceptable and marketed alternatives exist to all uses of deca-BDE in EEE, while the other report, which presents a health and environmental assessment of six alternatives to deca-BDE in EEE, shows no evidence to suggest the six alternatives assessed are more harmful to the environment and human health than deca-BDE.

Source: Danish Ministry of the Environment