What is RoHS?
In 1998, the European Union (EU) began to turn its attention to the large amounts of hazardous material being dumped into landfills throughout Europe. With waste accumulating rapidly, concerns were raised about the existence of a large and growing possibility of environmental contamination.
Responding to vocal and continuing calls for action, the WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) directive was enacted by the EU – a move that in turn spawned the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. Both of these measures are meant to reduce the amount of hazardous materials that ultimately end up in landfills throughout the EU.
Despite heavy lobbying against these directives and amendments made to them, these regulations demonstrate a collective sociopolitical focus on environmental concerns. Indicating both the growing influence of “green thinking” on the part of governments and a desire to move responsibility for compliance up the food chain to manufacturers and suppliers, RoHS is forcing alterations in the current operating standards of a multitude of companies.
RoHS directly regulates the concentration levels of substances considered hazardous in electrical and electronic equipment. The substances regulated include:
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Cadmium
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Hexavalent Chromium
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Lead
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Mercury
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Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBBs)
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Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)
Maximum allowed concentration values are:
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Up to 0.1% by weight (1,000ppm) in homogeneous materials for lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBBs and PBDEs
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Up to 0.01% by weight (100ppm) in homogenous materials for cadmium
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