Is RoHS Necessary for Electrical Equipment?

The RoHS directive has originated in the European Union when the production and use of electrical and electronic products went on an increase. It was formed with a motive to use, treat, and dispose of these products rightly and prevent the release of harmful chemicals and substances from them. This prevented the environmental and health problems that were associated with those chemicals. The RoHS directive restricts the presence and use of certain specific hazardous substances and promotes using their safer alternatives.

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Today, the directive prevents the usage of heavy metals, flame retardants, and plasticizers within electrical and electronic products and these are as follows:

  • Lead
  • Cadmium
  • Mercury
  • Hexavalent chromium
  • BBP
  • DEHP
  • PBDE
  • DBP
  • DIBP

The main objective of the directive is to lower and prevent the risks that are posed to human health and the environment through exposure to the EEE wastes. The directive also actively promotes the recyclability of these EEE products and maintains a safe ground for the EU manufacturers. They also ensure that the EEE imports are complying with the regulations.

Will you get affected by the RoHS?

Every electrical product sold in the EU since 2006 need to mandatorily pass the RoHS compliance testing. The scope of the directive includes everything right from the kitchen appliances to laptops, mobile phones and even the lighting equipment. There are no specific demarcations for EEE for consumer use and EEE for professional or industrial use.

Hence, if you are importing, distributing, selling or manufacturing EEE goods, they must not contain the restricted substances that are beyond the advised levels. If you are manufacturing in bulk, you need to understand the best possible alternatives and take separate permissions for production. You need to also check if the materials are exempted from the rules. You also need your suppliers to ensure that the components you provide are CE certified.

How can you comply with RoHS?

Before you release the electrical products in the EU market, you need to carry out conformity tests and procedures to prove that your products are compliant with the guidelines. You need to file a technical document and an EU Declaration of Conformity. The labs will conduct the following tests to understand the levels of usage of the restricted chemicals.

  • XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy)
  • FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectrophotometer)
  • SEM/EDX (Scanning Electron Microscopy)

Get your RoHS compliance done from Enviropass and ensure that the products you are manufacturing are compliant.