BSEF Statement on Belgian Court Case

Industry seeks to confirm that the European Commission Decision to exempt the polymeric applications of Deca-BDE from the EU RoHS Directive is implemented and that it applies to commercial Deca-BDE

Member companies of the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum have filed a legal challenge over the Belgian government’s implementation of the EU Directive on the Restriction of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS).

This legal action seeks to ensure that the relevant Belgian RoHS implementation law exempts polymeric applications of the commercial Deca-BDE, which includes amounts of Nona-BDE as impurities, in order to reflect the conclusions of a comprehensive ten-year European scientific assessment on commercial Deca-BDE. This risk assessment did not identify any risk to human health or to the environment posed by commercial DecaBDE and it forms the basis for the RoHS exemption of Deca-BDE adopted by the European Commission in October 2005.

Deca-BDE is a brominated flame retardant used in a wide range of plastics and contributes to saving hundreds of lives every year by preventing the occurrence and slowing down the spread of fires.