Mr. Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment
European Commission Rue de la Loi 200, B- 1049 Brussels CC: Mr. Hans-Christian Eberl Brussels 25 October 2013 EU Commission still fails to prioritize brominated flame retardants in electronics products for restriction: International concerns grow that the EU RoHS Directive will not protect global health nor support innovation in safer substitutes Dear Commissioner Potočnik, This is a follow up to the letter we sent you on July 22 from over 100 civil society groups around the world. We are collectively writing again – this time with almost 160 signatures, to register our ongoing deep concerns with the revised proposal for prioritizing hazardous materials for future restrictions. We acknowledge and welcome the Commission’s listing of PVC on the priority list since PVC presents hazards during its manufacturing, use and end of life phase plus it is a well known precursor to the formation of chlorinated dioxins/furans. It is important that PVC is therefore assessed at the upcoming stakeholder meeting on October 28, 2013. However, the Commission is still not comprehensively addressing the pr oblem of brominated and chlorinated flame retardants as a class of hazardous materials. This is particularly perplexing because the EU Commission’s own consultants have demonstrated that these substances fulfill the criteria for restriction and should be prioritised for evaluation due to the methodology developed. The proposed piecemeal approach prioritizes a small number of obscure and less significant chemicals that will not solve the health and environmental challenges posed by the entire class. As Chemsec points out: no groups have been included on the prioritisation list even though the report clearly shows that brominated and chlorinated flame-retardants (BFRs and CFRs), as well as organochlorines, organobromines and chloroalkanes, fulfil the criteria of the RoHS directive and have representative substances that meet the human health or environmental hazard criteria set out in the methodology. A group approach to CFRs and BFRs is essential for many reasons. Numerous studies have demonstrated the potential for the formation of halogenated dioxins/furans for a diverse range of BFRs, including emerging BFRs (such as BTBPE). It is well documented that chlorinated materials such as PVC together with brominated materials can generate chlorinated, brominated and mixed chlorobromo dioxins during end of life treatment. Animal studies have shown that exposure to PBDD/Fs and mixed chlorinated-brominated dioxins and furans can result in toxicity to the immune system, the reproductive system and the developing foetus during pregnancy and that they should be considered as being capable of causing cancer in humans. Exposure to all BFRs occurs not only in sub-standard treatment of e-waste where extremely high levels of BFRs and chloro-bromo dioxins have been found in countries outside the European Union.