Ban on Mercury and Cadmium (Glossary)

Legal basis in the EU, respectively in Germany

In Germany, respectively in all Member States of the EU, a far reaching marketing ban for batteries and accumulators, respectively accumulator packs containing cadmium and mercury is scheduled from 26.9.2008. The basis for the legal regulations, which partly have yet to be implemented, is 'Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council from 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators' (the so-called Battery Directive). The primary objective of this Directive is to 'minimise the negative impacts of batteries and accumulators on the environment and hence to contribute towards protecting, conserving and enhancing the quality of the environment'.

Amongst other things, the Directive envisages far-reaching prohibitions on the placing on the market of batteries and accumulators that contain mercury and cadmium:

	Article 4
	(1)	a) all batteries or accumulators, whether or not incorporated into appliances, that contain more than 0.0005 % of mercury by weight; and
		b) portable batteries or accumulators, including those incorporated into appliances, that contain more than 0.002 % of cadmium by weight.

The following exceptions are envisaged:

	(2)	The prohibition set out in paragraph 1(a) shall not apply to button cells with a mercury content of no more than 2% by weight.
	(3)	The prohibition set out in paragraph 1(b) shall not apply to portable batteries and accumulators intended for use in: a) emergency and alarm systems, including emergency lighting; b) medical equipment; or c) cordless power tools.

The regulation set out in c), citing exceptions for power tools is to be reviewed on 26 September 2010. There are further exceptions, for instance for batteries for the military area.

The EU Member States must implement the Battery Directive in national law by 26 September 2008.

On the basis of the Ordinance on the Return and Disposal of Used Batteries and Accumulators (Battery Ordinance - BattV) there has also for a long time been a marketing prohibition for certain batteries containing mercury:

BattV Section 13 Prohibitions

(1) The marketing of batteries or appliances with built-in batteries containing more than 0.0005 percent by weight of mercury is prohibited. Button cells and batteries comprised of button cells with a maximum mercury content of 2 percent by weight are exempt.

There are also exceptions to this prohibition.

Legal basis in Switzerland

In Switzerland the 'Ordinance for the reduction of risks while handling particularly dangerous materials, preparations and articles (Chemikalien-Risikoreduktions-Verordnung, ChemRRV [Ordinance on the Reduction of Risks from Chemicals], SR 814.81) from 18 May 2005 came into force on 1 August 2005.

SR 814.81, Appendix 2.15

2.1 Mercury and cadmium in batteries and accumulatorsManufacturers are prohibited from placing the following types of batteries and accumulators on the market, if their mercury or cadmium content exceeds the following maximum values:
Type	Maximum values in percentage weight mercury	Maximum values in percentage weight cadmium
Carbon zinc batteries	0,0005	0,015
Alkaline manganese batteries	0,0005	-
No type of button batteries or button accumulators may be placed on the market by a manufacturer if it contains more than 2 percent mercury by weight. [...] 2.3 Appliances with batteries or accumulators incorporated into them Appliances with batteries or accumulators incorporated into them are prohibited from being placed on the market if the batteries or accumulators contain more than 0.0005 percent mercury, 0.0005 percent cadmium or 0.1 percent lead by weight.

In addition to this the ordinance contains further prohibitions and exceptions.
As at: 1.5.2007

Sources of further information

You will find links to additional sources of information. Please note that these are external websites for which we accept no responsibility.

EU

EUR-Lex: Directive 2006/66/EG - Bibliography + Text

BMU: Legislation in the EU

Switzerland

Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance, ChemRR, SR 814.81

© Marc Stenzel

Important note

The above text is the result of careful research by a lay jurist. This text is possibly imperfect, incomplete or not up to date. You should therefore never use the information provided here as the sole basis for legal-related decisions. Instead, you should also consult qualified sources of information, such as a lawyer.

	See also:
		Accumulator lexicon: overview Batteries - accumulators - cells Accumulator packs Battery raw material cadmium Battery raw material mercury Nickel-cadmium accumulators German Battery Ordinance - BattV

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