The consolidated text of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Recast has been adopted by the European Commission.  On Nov. 24, the European Parliament’s environment committee adopted a compromise deal on updating existing legislation on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electronic and electrical equipment.  In an overwhelming margin, 640 votes were in favor, three against and 12 abstained.

The RoHS Directive will apply to more types of electronic and electrical equipment, including mechanized toys and lab equipment. This update to EU legislation notes a likely forthcoming review that would consider adding new substances to the current blacklist.

The current RoHS blacklist is as follows:

The RoHS Recast is still subject to further processes prior to final publication in the OJEC, the Official Journal of the European Community.  One aspect of that is confirmation by the European Parliament.

The National Measurement Office of the U.K. is responsible for enforcing the implemented RoHS Regulations only and is not directly involved in this process. They are providing advice and guidance on the future implementation in the meantime until the final version is published.  Advice and guidance is based on the most up to date information available at the time it is given.

Policy questions should be directed to BIS / the European Commission.Commission Decision 2010/571/EU

Exemptions under RoHS recast

Here is what you need to know about exemptions so far.

1.There are no exemptions from RoHS Regulations for products containing either PBB or PBDE.
2.There is one exemption for products containing hexavalent chromium.
3.There are six exemptions for products containing cadmium.
4.There are about 35 exemptions for products containing either mercury or lead.

For a full list of exemptions, click here to go straight to the official site.

Here is some extra help in the form of Guidance from the RoHS site in the UK.  We’ll be sure to post breaking news on this subject as events warrant.