The RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) regulations aim to reduce the harmful effects to people and the environment caused by dangerous substances used in the manufacture of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE). Many types of EEE products are regulated to control the levels of hazardous substances that they contain, with the aim of effectively recovering, reusing or recycling these substances. The main purpose is to make electronics manufacturing safer at every stage of an electronic device's life cycle by restricting the use of hazardous materials.
Currently, RoHS restricts the use of 10 hazardous substances in EEE. These are as follows, each with their respective maximum concentration values:
A further 4 substances were added to the list after the 2015 EU directive, referred to as ROHS 3, was introduced: (See the legislation document linked in ‘References’ below)
The RoHS regulations apply to the following categories of EEE:
However, there are some categories of electronic equipment that the RoHS regulations do not apply to. To see the full list of these, please refer to page 6 of the guidance document ‘Guidance to RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU’ linked from the references section below.
Special rules apply to the following categories of EEE. Please refer directly to the regulations for specific details (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3032/schedule/1):