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Toxic cadmium one step closer to EU-wide ban
May 26, 2015
Toxic cadmium one step closer to EU-wide ban
The European Parliament voted last week to re-assess the used of cadmium in TV sets sold across Europe, saying safer alternatives to the toxic and carcinogenic substance were now widely available.
Cadmium is widely used in illumination and display lighting applications such as LCD screens used in television sets or desktop computers.
The substance was exempted from the EU directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) because safer alternatives were not available at the time of adoption, in 2002. RoHS requires replacing heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, with safer alternatives, when available.
The European Commission had proposed extending the exemption until July 2017, arguing that cadmium-free quantum dots technology was not yet technically available.
But MEPs rejected that claim, saying it was “manifestly incorrect”.
Read more at EurActiv.
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