In effect November 2015, there will be a new Canadian mercury regulation for product compliance that exceeds the requirements of the European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation. All companies manufacturing or importing goods in Canada are required to comply with this regulation or be subject to enforcement procedures.
Walter Jager is founder and principal consultant of ECD Compliance where he works with product manufacturers and suppliers on global regulatory requirements and the development of strategic and tactical environmental compliance and sustainability solutions. He contributed to the development of several International Environmental Standards and is the chair of the Canadian committees for the Environmental Standardization for Electronics and the Sustainability for and by Information Technology. Walter also serves on the committee working to develop future EPEAT enhancements.
Recently, Canada passed legislation with regard to products containing mercury, “Products Containing Mercury Regulations (SOR/2014-254.) “ The legislation goes into force in November 2015. What are the basic components of the legislation and how does it compares to EU ROHS?
There are seven basic components to the legislation. This includes the prohibition of products that contain mercury, a list of applicable exemptions and the use of permits for mercury containing products, along with labeling, testing, and reporting requirements.
The prohibition of products that contain mercury applies to all products except for those that have exclusions. The regulation does not apply to pest control, food, ammunitions, fertilizers, raw materials like ores and concentrates, drugs, cosmetics, and surface coating materials like paints. These all have separate regulations that apply, including some under the Consumer Protection and Safety Act.
Exemptions for allowed uses are in place for applications where there is no scientific alternative to mercury like in mercury containing lamps. Many of the exemptions fall into the electronics space. In addition, medical devices intended to remain in the body such as implanted devices have an exemption. There are exemptions for spare parts as well. Most of the exemptions do not have sunset dates at this time.
A permit process was created for manufacturers and importers to apply for exemptions where an exemption does not exist. They can ask for a company specific permit which is good for 3 years to allow manufacturing to continue but need to justify why mercury is required and a long term plan for phase
Labeling is required to inform consumers in both English and French that the product contains mercury. Safe handling procedures must be spelled out. Clear procedure for what to do if the product breaks should be included along with disposal and recycling instructions according to applicable laws. Placement of the elemental symbol (hg) for mercury on the product in 10 point font, 3 millimeters in height is also required.
Testing requirements are not mandatory but if needed must be done in accordance with the IEC 62321-4 standard for mercury testing in electro-technical products.
Manufacturers and importers need to report on an annual basis products containing mercury and specify how much mercury per product and how many products are being imported. This information is reported to Environment Canada.
This appears to be important legislation affecting manufacturers and importers. What impact will this have on operations and business?
Nearly all products that contain mercury are included. The maximum mercury threshold is 0.1% of the mass of homogenous materials in the product. Most products are affected.
All manufacturers, importers and affected supply chains need to meet the compliance requirements. This has not been a consideration for the Canadian market in the past but as of November 8th, 2015 it will be.
Costs will be incurred by manufacturers and importers for custom marking and labeling requirements in both English and French. Currently, there are electrical safety markings for the Canadian market and those will be expanded to include these requirements.
There will be costs for logistical tracking and mercury verification. Companies that ship to countries that don’t have mercury restrictions will need to consider this when shipping to Canada.
Will the data collected for EU RoHS and EU Battery compliance programs be sufficient to meet the Canadian regulatory requirements?
Environment Canada has tried to harmonize with the European Union’s RoHS directive. Most of the Canadian mercury requirements align with this except for batteries.
The lower mercury threshold in the Canadian regulation will require manufacturers and importers to reassess the batteries given that documentation will likely not be sufficient to indicate conformity.
Keep in mind that for the Canadian regulation, batteries have a lower maximum concentration threshold of 0.0005% of homogenous materials. For button cells, there is a transition period to achieve this level.
Product testing is another area that is a bit different. If there is a need to test products that contain mercury, then detailed test requirements are specified.
How does the Canadian law compare with the EU Battery Directive and are there any similarities or differences that companies need to be aware of when validating compliance?
The single most important thing to remember is that the basis of calculation is different.
The Canadian legislation is quite a bit tighter than the European Union. The European Union removed the mercury exemption for button cells.
Does the law apply to parts and products manufactured after November 2015 or all new product introductions already in the design and manufacturing pipeline?
The requirements apply to all products containing units of mercury manufactured in Canada or imported into Canada as of November 8th, 2015. There is no grandfathering provision for product models that were manufactured or imported before that date.
Do resellers and spare part manufacturers need to be concerned with the new legislation? Will they need to report as well?
There is an exemption provided for replacement parts for products that were manufactured or imported before the regulation came into force or was permitted under the regulations.
The exemption for replacement parts has no expiry date and the manufacturer or importer of such parts do not need to be included in the reports to Environment Canada.
How can companies determine if they are affected by the new legislation and what do you recommend as the next course of action?
There is a list of steps that can help prepare companies for meeting the compliance requirements.
First, check if the products are in scope of the regulation.
Then determine if the product contains mercury and whether it is already EU RoHS compliant. If a check for EU RoHS compliance has not been done yet, it may be necessary to evaluate all parts for mercury.
Look for any exemptions that might apply. Remember the Canadian exemptions do not line up with the EU RoHS exemptions. They are similar but not identical. It’s imperative to make sure it falls under Canadian exemptions.
Check the products for batteries. If the part is a battery or contains batteries, go back to manufacturer and see if it meets the threshold level based on homogenous material, since this is a new threshold level not previously used.
Start collecting data to meet reporting requirements and due diligence.
Finally, make sure the appropriate marking and labeling requirements are on the product and packaging, if not have pointers to where the information is available.
There are many more environmental product regulations headed our way in the future. It is important for companies to understand the markets and regulations of the countries in which they manufacturer and import products. Aligning business strategy and sales with product compliance requirements will prevent stop shipments, fines, and fees in the future.
Bio:
Kelly Eisenhardt is Co-Founder and Managing Director at BlueCircle Advisors, an environmental compliance and sustainability consulting and training firm based in Massachusetts (www.bluecircleadvisors.com.) In her role at BlueCircle Advisors, she is responsible for providing business intelligence, strategy and implementation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk programs. Her experience aligns well with her client’s needs for technology, compliance, and sustainability expertise by helping companies create and manage their corporate environmental and social responsibility programs.
To contact Kelly Eisenhardt, send emails to kelly.eisenhardt@bluecircleadvisors.com or follow her on Twitter @KelEisenhardt. For more information about BlueCircle Advisors and the company’s products and services, please visit www.bluecircleadvisors.com, on Facebook at BlueCircle Advisors, on Twitter @OurBlueCircle, and on the LinkedIn group at the BlueCircle Advisors group.