RoHS Directive

Complementary to the WEEE Directive is the Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (ROHS). This Directive aims to harmonise legislation controlling the use of hazardous substances in EEE across the EU and also seeks to reduce the environmental impact of WEEE by restricting the use of certain hazardous substances during manufacture. The ROHS Directive covers all products mentioned in the WEEE Directive except medical, monitoring and control equipment.

The Directive requires the substitution of lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PDBEs) by 1st July 2006. Manufacturers will need to understand the requirements of the RoHS Directive to ensure that their products, and their components, comply. Further details are available on the dedicated ROHS website external link

RoHS coming into force

The UK RoHS regulations came into force on 1 July 2006 and The National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) are UK’s RoHS enforcement agency.