ROHS DIRECTIVE 2011/65/EU
ROHS DIRECTIVE
Number: 2011/65/EU
Official Title:
Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
Description:
RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. RoHS can be pronounced “Ar, Oh, Ach, Es” or like “rose.”
The RoHS Directive lays down rules on the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) with a view to contributing to the protection of human health and the environment, including the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste EEE.
One of the prime objectives of RoHS 2 is to address concerns related to the increasing volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) arising in the EU. Hazardous substances in this type of equipment could be released during waste management processes and could give rise to damage to human health and the environment. The most effective way to address this concern is to restrict the use of the hazardous substances at the point of manufacture.
RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. RoHS can be pronounced “Ar, Oh, Ach, Es” or like “rose.”
This is a European Union regulation. The sole purpose is to address the global issue of consumer electronics waste. With the forever evolving technology world, many electronics are disposed and end up in landfills which end up causing environmental and human health hazards. This directive pertains to manufacturing of various types of electronic and electrical equipment without the use of six different hazardous materials:
Lead (Pb)
Mercury (Hg)
Cadmium (Cd)
Hexavalent chromium (Cr6+): Used in chrome plating, chromate coatings, and primers
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB): Flame retardant in plastic
Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE): Flame retardant in plastic
According to Wikapedia, “The maximum permitted concentrations in non-exempt products are 0.1% or 1000 ppm (except for cadmium, which is limited to 0.01% or 100 ppm) by weight. The restrictions are on each homogeneous material in the product, which means that the limits do not apply to the weight of the finished product, or even to a component, but to any single substance that could (theoretically) be separated mechanically—for example, the sheath on a cable or the tinning on a component lead.”
Restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) at the point of manufacture also reduces the potential exposure of hazardous substances during the use phase where dermal, oral and inhalation exposure can occur. The EU has also legislated on hazardous substances in relation to other priority waste streams, such as end-of-life vehicles, batteries and packaging.
WHICH PRODUCTS ARE COVERED BY THE ROHS DIRECTIVE?
The RoHS directive applies to the following types of equipment:
Large household appliances.
Small household appliances.
IT & Telecommunications equipment (although infrastructure equipment is exempt in some countries)
Consumer equipment.
Lighting equipment—including light bulbs.
Electronic and electrical tools.
Toys, leisure, and sports equipment.
Medical devices (exemption removed in July 2011)
Monitoring and control instruments (exemption removed in July 2011)
Automatic dispensers
Other EEE not covered by any of the categories above
WHICH PRODUCTS ARE NOT COVERED BY THE ROHS DIRECTIVE?
This Directive does not apply to:
(a) equipment which is necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes;
(b) equipment designed to be sent into space;
(c) equipment which is specifically designed, and is to be installed, as part of another type of equipment that is excluded or does not fall within the scope of this Directive, which can fulfil its function only if it is part of that equipment, and which can be replaced only by the same
specifically designed equipment;
(d) large-scale stationary industrial tools;
(e) large-scale fixed installations;
(f) means of transport for persons or goods, excluding electric two-wheel vehicles which are not type-approved;
(g) non-road mobile machinery made available exclusively for professional use;
(h) active implantable medical devices;
(i) photovoltaic panels intended to be used in a system that is designed, assembled and installed by professionals for permanent use at a defined location to produce energy from solar light for public, commercial, industrial and residential applications;
(j) equipment specifically designed solely for the purposes of research and development only made available on a business-to-business basis.
THE RESTRICTED SUBSTANCES AND MAXIMUM CONCENTRATION VALUES:
Restricted substances referred to in Article 4(1) and maximum concentration values tolerated by weight in homogeneous materials
Lead (0,1 %)
Mercury (0,1 %)
Cadmium (0,01 %)
Hexavalent chromium (0,1 %)
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) (0,1 %)
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) (0,1 %)
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) (0,1 %)
Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) (0,1 %)
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) (0,1 %)
Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) (0,1 %)
The restriction of DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP shall apply to medical devices, including in vitro medical devices, and monitoring and control instruments, including industrial monitoring and control instruments, from 22 July 2021.
The restriction of DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP shall not apply to cables or spare parts for the repair, the reuse, the updating of functionalities or upgrading of capacity of EEE placed on the market before 22 July 2019, and of medical devices, including in vitro medical devices, and monitoring and control instruments, including industrial monitoring and control instruments, placed on the market before 22 July 2021.
The restriction of DEHP, BBP and DBP shall not apply to toys which are already subject to the restriction of DEHP, BBP and DBP through entry 51 of Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.