The Institute of British Organ Building

Friday October 27th 2006

Lead in Pipe Organs - what does it all mean?

Following in the wake of the press release from the EU Commission on 27th June 2006, the IBO is busying itself in preparation to see through the conclusion of the Commission.

Since the end of June, we have received a number of questions asking for clarification of the impact of the Directive on the church organ per se. What is the extent of the conclusion and what about the impact of the parallel WEEE Directive? Hopefully the following will serve to clarify.

Both the Commission Press Office and the DTI confirm the position to be that the conclusion relates only to the pipe organ - defined and regarded by them as an instrument that produces its sound by passing air through pipes. Any existing exemption requests for other kinds of instrument therefore remain unaffected by this conclusion.

The WEEE Directive relates closely to the RoHS Directive by providing the authoritative categories of products which are required to be compliant across both Directives. The consultation with Member States which was carried out by the Commission in order to arrive at their conclusion was based on whether or not the pipe organ fell within the scope of these categories (as contained within the WEEE DIrective). We now know that is is the opinion of the Commission that it does not, and the the pipe organ is therefore regarded to be equally outside the scope of both the RoHS and the WEEE Directives.

Where pipe organ builders obtain equipment from supply companies to be used in the construction of a pipe organ, the Commission believe that there is now no requirement for the pipe organ builder to seek compliant parts from these suppliers, as there is no requirement for whole organ to be compliant with the RoHS and WEEE Directives.

However, there is a particular consequence for supply companies offering components for sale within the EU, where the same component is also offered to makers of digital or other types of organ (or supplied for inclusion in completely unrelated products that may fall within the scope of the Directives). In this circumstance the effects of the Directives do remain applicable to the Producer (i.e. the final party actually placing the product onto the market for sale), and the Producer should look to the supply company to provide compliant equipment. It may therefore still be the case that some suppliers to the pipe organ market will be affected by the requirements of the Directives if they also distribute more widely.

While the immediate pressure on the pipe organ has eased, the environmental logic, momentum and legal status behind both Directives has gathered apace throughout the wider manufacturing base around the world. Driven by far higher volume usage in other markets where compliance is necessary, many larger electronic component manufacturers used by suppliers to the pipe organ trade have discontinued non-compliant parts and are in the later stages of making only compliant stocks available. This in turn has left pipe organ supply companies needing to accelerate their efforts to source alternatives that do not compromise the integrity of their product in an effort to achieve ongoing availability and reliability.

Because the Commission is not empowered to give legal advice, they have advised that their announcement of the 27th June 2006 cannot be considered to be a decision. So, for a conclusion to become a decision, with the full legal status and precedence that enjoys, we now require the pipe organ to be included within the forthcoming legal review (obligatory under article 17.5 of the Directive) which will take place over 2007/08. The process has now begun, and the IBO have written to the Commission registering the inclusion of the pipe organ in the first phase of consultation within the overall review process. This has been acknowledged by the Commission.

The IBO will now work to ensure legal status on behalf of European organ builders under the Directive Review. Although this remains an important topic, the urgency of earlier months has given way to respite. We hope we will continue to enjoy your interest and support.

Thank you.