Commission Delegated Directive 2014/73/EU
of 13 March 2014
amending, for the purposes of adapting to technical progress, Annex IV to Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards an exemption for lead in platinized platinum electrodes used for conductivity measurements
(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, and in particular Article 5(1)(a) thereof,
OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 88.
Whereas:
(1) Directive 2011/65/EU prohibits the use of lead in electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market.
(2) Platinized platinum electrodes (PPEs) are platinum electrodes covered with a thin layer of platinum black. These electrodes are used when wide-range conductivity measurements are required or for measuring conductivity under strongly acidic or alkaline conditions. Both the substitution or elimination of lead in PPEs and the substitution of PPEs with other types of electrodes are scientifically and technically impracticable under these conditions.
(3) The use of lead in PPEs for wide-range conductivity measurements or for measuring conductivity under strongly acidic or alkaline conditions should therefore be exempted from the prohibition until 31 December 2018. This transition period is necessary for research and unlikely to have adverse impacts on innovation.
(4) Directive 2011/65/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1 Annex IV to Directive 2011/65/EU is amended as set out in the Annex to this Directive.
Article 2 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by the last day of the sixth month after entry into force at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.
When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Article 3 This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 4 This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 13 March 2014.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel Barroso
ANNEX In Annex IV to Directive 2011/65/EU the following point 37 is added:

‘37. Lead in platinized platinum electrodes used for conductivity measurements where at least one of the following conditions applies:
(a) wide-range measurements with a conductivity range covering more than 1 order of magnitude (e.g. range between 0,1 mS/m and 5 mS/m) in laboratory applications for unknown concentrations;
(b) measurements of solutions where an accuracy of +/– 1 % of the sample range and where high corrosion resistance of the electrode are required for any of the following:
(i) solutions with an acidity < pH 1;
(ii) solutions with an alkalinity > pH 13;
(iii) corrosive solutions containing halogen gas;
(c) measurements of conductivities above 100 mS/m that must be performed with portable instruments.
Expires on 31 December 2018.’