The RoHS directive is complementary to the WEEE directive and applies to the same categories of products defined by the WEEE directive, However since its recast these is a phase in of Category 8 medical devices and Category 9 monitoring and control equipment. It now also covers any other electrical and electronic equipment not fitting directly into these categories with a few exception listed in Article 2 (4)
The RoHS Regulations apply to the brand owner, reseller or the importer of electrical products and applies to the following categories of products.
- large household appliance
- small household appliances
- it and telecommunications
- consumer equipment
- lighting equipment
- electrical and electronic tools
- toys, leisure and sports equipment
- automatic dispensers
To comply with the RoHS Regulations, electrical products must meet the criteria for maximum concentration levels of a number of hazardous substances in each homogenous material listed below.
0.1% by weight for lead
0.1% by weight for mercury
0.1% by weight for hexavalent chromium
0.1% by weight for polybrominated biphenyls
0.1% by weight for polybrominated diphenyl ethers
0.01% by weight for cadmium
A company must demonstrate compliance by retaining technical documentation. Compliance with the RoHS Directive is required before you can place the CE mark on the product.
Exemptions to these limits are allowed for a number of application based products following a successful application to the EU Technical Application Committee. A list of these exemptions are found in the RoHS Regulations Government Guidance Notes.
Giraffe’s testing service gives manufactures of electronic equipment the opportunity to evaluate their products potential obligation under the Directives as well as assess components and materials for RoHS compliance. Using XRF companies can demonstrate due diligence by ensuring they comply with the RoHS Regulations. The X–Ray Fluorescence (XRF) process allows companies to check for the presence of materials restricted under the RoHS Directive. The charts below show an XRF test result comparing two ball grid arrays. The first one shows a high presence of lead (Pb) while the second is lead free. The latter is RoHS compliant..