REACH, RoHS

Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)

About individual REACH/RoHS certificates can be found on product pages.

REACH

In 2006, the European Union passed a new directive addressing the production of chemical substances and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Directive went into effect on June 1, 2007.

To download our letter, please click on the link below.

RoHS

In 2003, the European Union passed a new directive restricting the use of mercury, lead, cadmium and other potentially hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products. Called the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, the regulation went into effect on July 1, 2006.

Whenever possible, many of our parts are fully compliant.

To download our complete position letter, click on the link above. For answers to your questions about the RoHS Directive, contact us or call 978-465-4853.

What substances are covered by RoHS?

The hazardous substances covered by RoHS directive 2002/95/EC are:

• Lead (Pb)
• Cadmium (Cd)
• Mercury (Hg)
• Hexavalent chromium (CrVI)
• Polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), a flame retardant
• Polybrominated diphenyl (PBDE), a flame retardant

Who should be concerned with RoHS?

Companies that must comply with the RoHS directive are those that:

• Manufacture and sell electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) under their own brand
• Resell under their own brand EEE made by other manufacturers
• Import or export EEE on a professional basis

What equipment is covered by RoHS?

RoHS applies to low- voltage electrical and electronic equipment designed to operate at 1000V AC or less and 1500V DC or less, listed in Annex 1A of the WEEE directive 2002/96/EC:

• Large household appliances
• Small household appliances
• IT and telecommunications equipment
• Consumer equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools)
• Toys, leisure and sports equipment
• Automatic dispensers
• Spare parts for the above equipment manufactured after July 2006
• A detailed list of the equipment categories may be found in Annex 1B of directive 2002/96/EC.

What equipment is currently outside the scope or exempt from RoHS?

• Medium-voltage electrical and electronic devices
• Spare parts for electrical and electronic devices manufactured prior to July 2006
• Arms, munitions and national-defense-related material
• Large-scale stationary industrial tools

The two categories of electrical and electronic equipment listed in Annex 1A of directive 2002/96/EC, which will be included at a later date:

• Medical devices
• Monitoring and control instruments

Exceptions listed in the Annex to directive 2002/95/EC

• Mercury in certain lamps
• Lead in the glass of cathode ray tubes, fluorescent tubes and electrical components
• Lead in solder used in servers and storage systems (until 2010)
• Lead as an alloying agent in steel (0.35% by weight), aluminum (0.4% by weight), and copper (4% by weight)
• Lead in certain high melting temperature-type solders
• Lead in solders for network infrastructure equipment
• Lead in certain electronic ceramic parts
• Cadmium plating less than 0.01% by weight
• Hexavalent chromium in carbon steel cooling systems for absorption refrigeration

Download the Directives: