RoHS Compliances
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2002/95/EC, (RoHS 1), short for Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, was adopted in February 2003 by the European Union. [2]
The RoHS 1 directive took effect on 1 July 2006, and is required to be enforced and became a law in each member state. [3] This directive restricts (with exceptions) the use of ten hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC (now superseded [4] ) which sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic electronic waste. In speech, RoHS is often spelled out, or pronounced [citation needed] /rɒs/, /rɒʃ/, /roʊz/, or /ˈroʊhɒz/, and refers to the EU standard, unless otherwise qualified.
RoHS is often referred to as the "lead-free directive," but it restricts the use of the following ten substances:
- Lead (Pb)
- Mercury (Hg)
- Cadmium (Cd)
- Hexavalent chromium (Cr 6+ )
- Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
- Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)
- Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
- Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)
- Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
- Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)
DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP were added as part of DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/863 which was published on 31 March 2015. PBB and PBDE are flame retardants used in several plastics. Hexavalent chromium is used
in chrome plating, chromate coatings and primers, and in chromic acid. The directive applies to equipment as defined by a section of the WEEE directive. The following numeric categories apply:
- Large household appliances
- Small household appliances
- IT & telecommunications equipment (although infrastructure equipment is exempt in some countries)
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment – including light bulbs
- Electronic and electrical tools
- Toys, leisure, and sports equipment
- Medical devices (exemption removed in July 2011)
- Monitoring and control instruments (exemption removed in July 2011)
- Automatic dispensers
- Semiconductor devices
Examples of product components containing restricted substances[edit] RoHS restricted substances have been used in a broad array of consumer electronics products.
Examples of components that have contained lead include:
- Paints and pigments
- PVC (vinyl) cables as a stabiliser (e.g., power cords, USB cables)
- Solders
- Printed circuit board finishes, leads, internal and external interconnects
- Glass in television and photographic products (e.g., CRT television screens and camera lenses)
- Metal parts
- Lamps and bulbs
- Batteries
- Integrated circuits or microchips
