02 Apr EU Ecodesign Regulation on Electronic Displays – ban on HFRs in Enclosures. “Don’t make same mistake!” Says leading Chinese fire safety expert to Chinese authorities

Professor Zhengmao Zhou, Secretary General of the China Association of Flame Retardant Materials (CAFRM) has published recently a paper entitle “Common Mistake and Suggestion in Flame Retardant Control in Green Standards in Information Technology and Standardization”[1] at China MIIT’s official journal.

In his paper Professor Zhengmao criticizes the prejudgment against brominated flame retardants in the European Union, using it as a bad example and calling for Chinese regulators to avoid similar mistakes in green standard development in China[2].

We are often faced with flame retardant requirements when developing green standards. As halogen-free is a common misunderstanding in eco-friendly flame retardants, it is likely to misguide green standard drafters.

The paper mentions that “halogen-free is a marketing concept without any science basis and it is not directly related to eco-friendliness at all. Blind pursuit of halogen-free is not conductive to Electric and Electronic development. Though International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)has low-halogen standards, it is out of the need to define what is halogen-free because it is not possible to reach complete halogen-free or halogen-zero.”

Professor Zhengmao Zhou continues saying that “IEC’s halogen-free standards do not mean that IEC supports halogen-free or believes there is any link between halogen-free and eco-friendliness. EU makes a mistake in adding a halogen-free requirement in its newly updated eco-design regulation for e-displays, which provides us with a lesson in drafting green standards.

If we need to raise any requirement for flame retardants in developing green standards, it is suggested that we get our evaluation criteria based on science, consult experts in flame retardants, list flame retardants one by one instead of dealing with them as a family. In this way, we may ensure the green standards are as science based as possible.”

Sources

[1] http://mall.cnki.net/magazine/Article/DZBZ201912009.htm
[2] http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2016-12/07/content_5144554.htm