The European Commission recently published a draft proposal for removing the exemption for cadmium-containing portable batteries used in cordless power tools (CPT) currently provided for in Battery Directive 2006/66/EC.
The Battery Directive prohibits the placing on the market of portable batteries containing more than 0.002 % of cadmium by weight but currently provides an exemption for portable nickel cadmium batteries intended for use in emergency and alarm systems, including emergency lighting, medical equipment and CPT. This exemption for CPT was included in the Battery Directive in 2006 because at that time no viable alternatives were available to the industry to replace nickel cadmium batteries.
The Commission now believes viable alternatives to nickel cadmium batteries for CPT are available.