European union ELV directive: how will it impact the automotive & metal finishing industries?

摘要

The End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive 2000/53/EC was enacted by the European Parliament and the Council of European Union on September 18, 2000. The objective was to prevent waste from the recovery, reuse and recycling lingof1 vehicles at the end of their lives (i.e., when they hit the scrap yard). This includes components, spare parts and replacements. The entire legislation covers four heavy metals: cadmium, lead, mercury, and (the one impacting the metal finishing industry most) hexavalent chromium. The original edict limited the amount of hexavalent chromium to 2.0 grams per vehicle, but only where the Cr(VI) was present for purposes of corrosion protection. All other uses of Cr(VI) were banned (i.e., 0.0 grams per vehicle).