RS Technologies

What is RoHS? Restrictions On Hazardous Substances, or RoHS for short (pronounced RO-HAAS), is a movement endorsed by the European Union in Directive 2002/95/EC to eleminate the use of certain hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium in electrical and electronic devices. As of July 6, 2006, all electrical and electronic devices marketed in the EU must comply with the directive or face being banned from the marketplace. Other countries such as Japan and China have endorsed the movement with similar legislation of their own.

What hazardous substances are covered? The substances covered by the RoHS Directive are scientifically well researched and evaluated and have been subject to different measures both at community and at national level. Member States shall ensure that, from 1 July 2006, new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market does not contain lead ("lead free"), mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).

Does RoHS mean "lead-free"? Although there has been a movement toward offering "lead-free" electronics, lead is only one of the hazardous substances RoHS covers.

Why is RoHS important? Thousands of electronic devices are disposed of each year and only a small portion of them are recycled with most going into landfills or incinerated. The impact of such disposal is potentially threatening our fragile environment. RoHS seeks to eliminate substances that have been proven to be hazardous to health and the ecology of the planet.

I don't sell or market in Europe. Why should I be concerned about RoHS? There is legislation pending on the State level in the US that may seek to impose similar bans on hazardous substances. By starting to work now in designing hazardous substances out of our products we will be able to meet future restrictions.

Bottom Line: It is up to us to protect the health and safety of our air, of our drinking water, of our entire environment, not only for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren and the generations to come.

RS Technologies is working to meet the RoHS requirements for all of our product lines. There is much information available on the Internet so we have provided just a few links below which may provide you with a better understanding of what RoHS is all about and how it impacts manufacturers around the world.

DIRECTIVE 2002/95/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment

RoHS Simplified Key elements of RoHS Directive

Working with EEE products to deliver compliance with RoHS in the UK

The RoHS Directive aims to protect human health and the environment

News from the RoHS Reference Center, courtesy of Electronic Design, a Penton publication, is designed to provide electronic design engineers with lead free information they need to specify or purchase lead free electronic components in compliance with the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances directive - commonly known as the lead-free directive.