I think a lot of the issue concerning manufacturers stems from recourse down the line, especially BFL's 'lifetime guarantee'.
They can't release working products into the wild unless thu know they are safe and failsafe, otherwise the costs could become astronomical to repair all units prone to failure.
Heating and power being the issue it is, fire safety is a huge issue.
I don't think the DIYers care so much about this, that said I fear the bulk PCB and Avalon chip collaborators haven't thought this issue through greatly either.
EU manufacturers and importers legally have to take into account the WEEE directive, which is a requirement for manufacturing or importing any electrical goods into any EU country.
What about unfinished components?
Q. Are component parts of electrical equipment considered to be EEE?
A. Components cover the range of discrete items that form part of a finished product and thus enable it to work properly, for example transistors, capacitors, diodes or internal wiring. Sub-assemblies are packages of components assembled into discrete units, such as display panels or populated circuit boards. Components and sub-assemblies supplied for further manufacture or assembly are not finished products and are therefore not considered to be EEE in their own right.
So actually you may be ok...certainly the chips, and say Burnin's empty pcb boards, but not 100% on if Burnin's assembled boards with cooling are. I guess though without a power supply they come under 'populated sub-assembly's' and may be ok...?
