Dutch authorities tested compatible toners for bromides: 4 brands exceed legal limits

June 16, 2021

In the last few months, the Dutch health and safety regulator ILT tested 35 private label toner cartridges supplied by seven different companies sold in The Netherlands. Test results showed that four toners had levels of the illegal flame retardant bromide exceeding the legal limit, and one toner even contained lead. These toners have now been removed from the market. ETIRA learned that ILT would not conduct additional tests because they have other IT items with higher RoHS/REACH violation rates.

Although ILT did not name the brands found to be infringing, ETIRA knows that the tested products were single-use toners from Asia. In 2019/2020, ETIRA and other market players conducted similar tests. They found that no less than 7 in 8 toners tested contained flame retardant DecaBDE levels that exceeded EU health and safety levels. Following those shocking findings, ETIRA called on regulators in European Union Member States to strengthen market surveillance and test 3-rd country toners for conformity with ROHS and REACH compliance to seize these dangerous toners posing a health risk to EU consumers.