The EU ROHS standard

The ROHS directive restricts the use of the following six types of hazardous substances

1. Examples of mercury using this substance: thermostats, sensors, switches and relays, light bulbs 2. Examples of lead using this substance: solder, glass, PVC stabilizers 3. Examples of cadmium using this substance: switches, springs, connectors, housings and PCBs, contacts, batteries 4. Chromium (hexavalent) using this substance: metal corrosion coatings 5. Examples of polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) using this substance: flame retardants, PCB、 Connectors, plastic shells, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Examples of using this substance include flame retardants, PCB、 Connectors, plastic casing

Testing principle: According to the requirements of the EU WEEE&ROHS directive. AOV is the process of separating products based on their materials and conducting separate testing for harmful substances using different materials. Generally speaking, metal materials need to be tested for four harmful metal elements, such as Cd cadmium/Pb lead/Hg mercury/Cr6+hexavalent chromium. Plastic materials need to be tested for brominated flame retardants (polybrominated biphenyls PBB/polybrominated diphenyl ethers PBDE) in addition to these four harmful metal elements. Different packaging materials also need to be tested for heavy metals separately (94/62/EEC). The following are the upper limit concentrations specified for the six harmful substances in ROHS: cadmium: less than 100ppm, lead: less than 1000ppm, steel alloys: less than 2500ppm, aluminum alloys: less than 4000ppm, copper alloys: less than 40000ppm, mercury: less than 1000ppm, hexavalent chromium: less than 1000ppm. What is ROHS? ROHS stands for the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.  

What do harmful substances refer to? RoHS lists six hazardous substances, including lead Pb, cadmium Cd, mercury Hg, hexavalent chromium Cr6+, polybrominated diphenyl ether PBDE, and polybrominated biphenyl PBB.  

Why introduce ROHS? The first time it was noticed that electrical and electronic equipment contained heavy metals harmful to human health was in 2000 when cadmium was found in the cables of a batch of game consoles sold in the market in the Netherlands. In fact, the soldering and packaging printing inks widely used in the production of electrical and electronic products currently contain harmful heavy metals such as lead.  

When will ROHS be implemented? The EU will implement RoHS on July 1, 2006, and electrical and electronic products that use or contain heavy metals and flame retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) will not be allowed to enter the EU market.

5. Which products are specifically involved in ROHS? ROHS targets all electrical and electronic products that may contain the six harmful substances mentioned above in the production process and raw materials, including white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, water heaters, and black goods such as audio and video products, DVD，CD， TV receivers, IT products, digital products, communication products, etc; Electric tools, electric electronic toys, medical electrical equipment.

6. What is the current progress of RoHS? Some large companies have taken notice of RoHS and begun to take countermeasures, such as SONY's digital cameras, which have declared on the packaging box that this product uses lead-free soldering; Printed with lead-free ink. The Ministry of Information Industry also issued the "Management Measures for Pollution Prevention and Control of Electronic Information Products" in 2004, which is similar to RoHS. In October, the "Working Group on Pollution Prevention and Control Standards for Electronic Information Products" was established to study and establish a pollution prevention and control standard system for electronic information products that is in line with China's national conditions; Carry out research and revision work on standards related to pollution prevention and control of electronic information products, especially accelerate the development of basic standards such as materials, processes, terminology, testing methods, and experimental methods urgently needed by the industry.  

7. The impact of RoHS on China's electronics industry According to the latest data from the China Electrical Equipment Industry Association, in the first quarter of 2004, China's exports of electromechanical products accounted for 55% of China's exports. And the EU has become the main market for China's mechanical and electrical product exports? The ROHS directive has resulted in nearly $27 billion worth of Chinese electromechanical products facing environmental barriers from the European Union. The Chinese government has been closely monitoring and researching countermeasures, and the State Council has specifically tasked the Ministry of Information Industry with researching and responding to the EU's environmental directives. The "Management Measures for Pollution Prevention and Control of Electronic Information Products" formulated by the Ministry of Information Industry in accordance with relevant laws and regulations such as the "Clean Production Promotion Law" and the "Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law" have been completed and implemented on January 1, 2005. According to the Management Measures for Pollution Prevention and Control of Electronic Information Products, starting from July 1, 2006, electronic information products listed in the Key Pollution Prevention and Control Catalogue of Electronic Information Products shall not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent substances.