Japan Proposes Enforcement Order of the Act on Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury
Vol. 892 | 04 Feb 2016
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of the Environment (MoE) have proposed an Enforcement Order relating to “Act on Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury,” which implements the Minamata Convention on Mercury to protect human health and the environment from mercury.
Under the Act, the manufacture, import or export of specified mercury-added products is restricted after the phase-out dates, which are set earlier as compared to Part I of Annex A in the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
Table 1: The highlighted products are listed below:
| Specified mercury-added products | Phase-out date |
|---|---|
Batteries (excluding the following)
| End of 2017 (End of 2020 for button alkali batteries) |
Switches and relays | End of 2020 |
Compact fluorescent lamps and self-ballasted fluorescent lamps for general lighting purposes that are less than or equal to 30 watts of rated power consumption with a mercury content exceeding 5 mg per lamp burner | End of 2017 |
Linear fluorescent lamps (LFLs) for general lighting purposes:
| End of 2017 |
High pressure mercury vapour lamps (HPMV) for general lighting purposes | End of 2020 |
Cold cathode fluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent lamps (CCFL and EEFL) for electronic displays:
| End of 2017 |
Cosmetics | End of 2017 |
Pesticides, biocides and topical antiseptics | End of 2017 |
Non-electronic measuring devices except non-electronic measuring devices used for high precision measurement, where no suitable mercury-free alternative is available:
| End of 2020 |
For more information, please contact:
John Wong
john.wong@intertek.com
852 2173 8637
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