Batteries to be regulated

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 9, 2006. It reports that the Environmental Protection Administration recently announced new regulations over the manufacture, importation and sale of zinc manganese and non-bottom cell alkaline manganese batteries. Starting from September 2006, all such batteries with a mercury content exceeding 5 parts per million (ppm) will be prohibited.

The Environmental Protection Administration tested a wide range of batteries in 2005 and found that the mercury levels of around 10 percent of dry cell batteries on the market exceed 5ppm. Some batteries imported from China even had mercury levels as high as 848 times that level. It was estimated that about 1.47 percent of batteries on the market, or 117 tonnes annually, had excessively high mercury content.

The Environmental Protection Administration proposed a draft amendment to Article 21 of the Waste Disposal Act, which requires "the restriction of manufacturing, import, sales and use" of the batteries. While this new restriction will take effect in September 2006, other requirements for the inclusion of a battery's mercury content on its casing will also come into effect in December 2006.

Anyone found manufacturing or importing non-compliant batteries will be subject to fines ranging from NT$60,000 (US$1,847) to NT$300,000 (US$9,235), with NT$1,200 to NT$6,000 penalties for their sale.