Britain's church organs have been saved following a campaign from a Midland MP and the Dean of Worcester Cathedral.
They are to be exempt from new EU rules making it illegal to manufacture new organs or replacement parts.
But yesterday, Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said they would not fall foul of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive which came into force on July 1.
Campaigners had feared it could ban the use of lead in pipe organs, making it illegal to build them or move them from one church to another. The issue was taken up by the Dean of Worcester Cathedral, who urged MidWorcestershire MP Peter Luff to raise it with Ministers.
Mr Wicks said the regulations had the "laudable" aim of minimising the environmental impact of waste electrical and electronic equipment by restricting the amount of hazardous substances in any new equipment.
It was "never envisaged" that it would apply to church and other pipe organs and the European Commission had since clarified that they were "clearly outside the scope of the new rules."
