RoHS (Restriction of
Hazadous Substances)
What is the RoHS Directive?
Restrictions of Hazardous Substances is a single market EU directive (this means that each country implements the same detail) and aims to reduce environmental impacts of waste and improve recyclability. RoHS is as such, much simpler to implement than the WEEE directive. This is a far smaller piece of legislation than WEEE, and really only applies to Manufacturers of new electrical equipment.
| COMPONENT | USE |
|---|---|
| Lead | used in the production of CRT Monitors (as much as 2KG per CRT) |
| Mercury | used in general switches |
| Cadmium | a carcinogen present in CRTs' and PCB's (printed circuit boards) |
| Hexavalent Chromium | used in some spray painting and steel welding |
| Polybrominated Biphenyls | flame retardents |
| Polybrominated Diphenyl ethers | flame retardents |
Please note under the RoHs Directive, certain exemptions apply to medical equipment systems and monitoring and control equipment.