RoHS has always been a topic of discussion despite being prevalent since 2002. The restrictions and the requirements have constantly been changing and updating and hence it has become even more confusing to know them all.
RoHS stands for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances and it is a 2002 EU directive coming into legal effect just in 2013. It is a huge effort to reduce hazardous waste production. There is a restriction on using the following chemicals in all the electrical and electronic products sold in the EU:
- Lead- 0.1%
- Mercury- 0.1%
- Cadmium-0.01%
- Hexavalent chromium-0.1%
- PBB-0.1%
- PBDE-0.1%
The extended EU directive has complete instructions for the inclusions and exemptions. You will get to know the substances that you need to remove from your products. But here are certain risky parts that you can remove from your final product to help yourself get compliant with the RoHS directives.
Leaded solder
This is the biggest one that you need to avoid right now. Make sure to remove all the leaded solders or use RoHS compliant solders in your electronics or shelf parts to comply with the guidelines. Your product might not be completely lead-free, but it will be safe and compliant.
PCBs
Certain PCBs use lead in the actual board during production. Be completely sure about it is RoHS compliant and using lead to the permissible limit.
Leaded paint
It is very difficult to determine if the paint is lead-free or not. But, it is also becoming very much obsolete in the market. Hence, it is always better to ask your vendor about the percentage of lead in your paint before you start with any transactions.
Hot dipped or galvanised zinc plating
Galvanised zinc plating is commonly compliant to the RoHS testing but there is certain hot dipped galvanisation that mostly uses lead to improve the dip’s fluidity. You must ask your vendor to ensure that the galvanised product is completely lead-free.
Brass
Brass and bronze have lead used in them commonly. They have a special allowance under the RoHS directive that allows the lead usage up to 4% but many brasses are above that content. If you aim to use the brass from machining, ensure that it does not have lead in it. Or it can contain 0.25% lead at the maximum limit.
Make sure that your products are compliant with the guidelines and check them thoroughly using the Enviropass RoHS compliance tests.
