EU RoHS Directive

The Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) 2002/95/EC adopted by the European Union (EU) in 2003 along with WEEE limits the use of six substances in Electronic & Electrical Equipment (EEE).

RoHS overview

As of July 1, 2006, all new Electrical and Electronic Equipment put on the EU market may not contain the substances restricted by the RoHS Directive and exceeding maximum concentration values in homogeneous materials. Certain exemptions apply, which are updated on occasion by the European Union.

Because the RoHS regulation is applied at the homogeneous material level, substance concentration data needs to be tracked and transferred through the entire supply chain to the final producer.

Economic impacts of RoHS

Leading manufacturers are feeling the economic impact of the RoHS. In June of 2006, Apple withdrew several of its noncompliant products from the European market. In a similar move, Palm was forced to stop shipping its Treo 650 smart phone to Europe because it was not RoHS compliant.

It is safe to assume that no company is 100% exempt from economic impacts of the RoHS Directive. Various direct and indirect effects of RoHS to the supply chain range from longer lead times for RoHS compliant parts and part shortages to rising prices for non-compliant parts.

Restricted substances

RoHS is often referred to as the "lead-free" directive, however it restricts the use of six substances that present significant health and environmental risks:

  • Lead (Pb)
  • Mercury (Hg)
  • Cadmium (Cd)
  • Hexavelent chromium (Chromium VI or Cr6+)
  • Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs)
  • Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs)

Affected product categories

The directive applies to the Electronic and Electrical Equipment falling under the WEEE Directive, with the exception of categories 8 (medical devices) and 9 (monitoring and control instruments), plus to electric light bulbs and luminaires in households:

  • Large household appliances
  • Small household appliances
  • IT & telecommunications equipment
  • Consumer equipment
  • Lighting equipment
  • Electrical and electronic tools
  • Certain toys, leisure and sports equipment
  • Automatic dispensers

How can EMARS help?

With a complete set of functionality for analyzing and tracking material content and compliance at the substance, material, part, and product levels, EMARS enables you to demonstrate "due diligence" and comply with RoHS, WEEE, China RoHS , and ELV Directives.

Moreover, EMARS RoHS Software empowers you to Design for Compliance and establish an enterprise-wide framework for staying on top of ever-evolving compliance requirements.

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