# The Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008, Regulation 4: Prohibitions on mercury and cadmium

Extent: E+W+S+NI

(1) No person shall place on the market—
(a) a battery that contains more than 0.0005% of mercury by weight;
(b) a portable battery that contains more than 0.002% of cadmium by weight.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) The prohibition in paragraph (1)(b) shall not apply to a portable battery intended for use in—
(a) emergency and alarm systems, including emergency lighting; or
(b) medical equipment.
(4) This regulation does not apply to a battery which is a component of a vehicle for the purposes of regulation 6 of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003.
(5) In this regulation—
“portable battery” means any battery or battery pack which is—
(a)sealed,
(b)can be hand-carried by an average natural person without difficulty, and
(c)is neither an automotive battery nor an industrial battery;
“automotive battery” means any battery used for automotive starter, lighting or ignition power;
“industrial battery” means any battery or battery pack which is—
(a)designed exclusively for industrial or professional uses,
(b)used as a source of power for propulsion in an electric vehicle,
(c)unsealed but is not an automotive battery, or
(d)sealed but is not a portable battery; and
“electric vehicle” means a vehicle which uses electricity as a source of power for propulsion and includes a vehicle which in addition uses, or is capable of using, other sources of power for this purpose

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/2164/regulation/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/batteries-and-accumulators-placing-on-the-market-regulations-2008/regulation-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.