Nanoco set for cadmium dots legal fight in Europe

MANCHESTER-based high-tech manufacturer Nanoco is challenging the legality of potentially harmful cadmium quantum dot screens in the EU market.

Nanoco, which develops cadmium-free quantum dots for liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, has requested an official investigation into the issue via a Petition with the European Parliament.

It comes at a time whn TPV, under the Philips brand, is reported this month to be introducing into the European market LCD monitors containing cadmum-based quantum dots.

In May, the European Parliament voted 618 to 33 to reject a Delegated Act by the European Commission extending the use of toxic cadmium in televisions and other displays until July 2018.

The European Parliament considered the European Commission’s justifications for maintaining cadmium exemptions as “manifestly incorrect”.  

Rather than accepting the European Parliament’s vote effectively ending the exemption, the European Commission decided to reassess whether the exemption should be kept in place for the future.  

The Petition states that the European Parliament vote in May rejecting the European Commission legal act exempting cadmium quantum dots in electronic equipment from the hazardous substance bans under the EU RoHS Directive means that cadmium quantum dots are consequently no longer legally allowed in the EU as of July 1 2014.
 
Nanoco chief executive Michael Edelman said: “There is no legal basis for keeping or allowing new cadmium displays in the market.

“Alternatives are readily available and the previous cadmium quantum dot exemption expired with the Parliament’s vote.

“The Commission’s decision to re-evaluate the cadmium quantum dots exemption therefore makes no sense – which is why we engaged with the Petitions Committee.”