Toxic Substance Regulation Updates

Update, May 20, 2022: Australian Mandatory Button Battery Regulations Take Effect June 22

In December 2020, Australia implemented mandatory standards for button/coin batteries (small, single-cell batteries with a diameter greater than their height) used in products sold in Australia. After June 22, products with button/coin batteries must have a secure, child-proof compartment, and must include a warning. Details about which products are impacted, compliance requirements, information for retailers and manufacturers, and potential penalties for non-compliance may be found here.

 

 

  • Update, April 25, 2022: Changes to E.U. Regulations for Manufacturers Using Lead, Pending

    Source: Music Industries Association News

    A European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) consultation is taking place regarding the use of lead and the potential need for any company using it as an alloying agent or otherwise in production, to apply for a permit to be able to continue doing so.

    Lead has been proposed as a priority substance for inclusion in the ECHA Authorization List and the ECHA is proposing not to recommend any exemptions be made for its use. This means that the use of lead, including as an alloying agent, would require an application for an authorization permit which would add a considerable cost burden and other significant challenges for manufacturers using it. In the music products industry, lead is used in alloys including brass, and in soldering within the electronics sector, and so the outcomes of the consultation have potential implications across a wide range of MI manufacturing. The issue of lead used in musical instrument mouthpieces has sparked several lawsuits in California under that jurisdiction's Prop 65 requirement to properly label products containing cancer-causing chemicals and other substances.

    Impacted NAMM members are encouraged to review the details.