Status of the RoHS directive and exemptions

Until January 2015, industry had applied for the continuation of more than 30 exemptions listed in Annex III of Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS Directive), which otherwise would have expired in July 2016. These exemptions allow the use of substances which the RoHS Directive restricts, among others highly important exemptions like the use of cadmium in electrical contacts, mercury in compact fluorescent lamps (energy saving lamps), lead in high melting point solders, lead in ceramics and glass of electrical and electronic components. The paper will give an overview on the background and experiences of the review procedure for the above-mentioned core exemptions. The review process started in June 2015 and ended in June 2016, and introduce the background of the reviewers' recommendations to the European Commission. The paper should be read in the context of the review reports [1], [2].