RoHS - LEAD FREE SOLDER AND SUPPLIES

RoHS Legislation Article 4(1) on prevention:
“Member States shall ensure that, from 1 July 2006, new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market does not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). National measures restricting or prohibiting the use of these substances in electrical and electronic equipment, which were adopted in line with Community legislation before the adoption of this Directive may be maintained until 1 July 2006.”

What Products are Affected?
 

• Large household appliances
   
• Small household appliances
   
• IT and telecommunication equipment
   
• Consumer equipment
   
• Lighting
   
• Electrical & electronic tools
   
• Toys, leisure & sports equipment
   
• Automatic dispensers

Exceptions
Under the RoHS Directive, certain exemptions apply to medical equipment systems and monitoring and control equipment. The RoHS Annex states the exceptions:

Applications of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium, which are exempted from the requirements of Article 4(1)
1. Mercury in compact fluorescent lamps not exceeding 5 mg per lamp.
2. Mercury in straight fluorescent lamps for general purposes not exceeding:
    — halophosphate 10 mg
    — triphosphate with normal lifetime 5 mg
    — triphosphate with long lifetime 8 mg.
3. Mercury in straight fluorescent lamps for special purposes.
4. Mercury in other lamps not specifically mentioned in this Annex.
5. Lead in glass of cathode ray tubes, electronic components and fluorescent tubes.
6. Lead as an alloying element in steel containing up to 0,35 % lead by weight, aluminium containing up to 0,4 % lead
by weight and as a copper alloy containing up to 4 % lead by weight.
7. — Lead in high melting temperature type solders (i.e. tin-lead solder alloys containing more than 85 % lead),
    — lead in solders for servers, storage and storage array systems (exemption granted until 2010),
    — lead in solders for network infrastructure equipment for switching, signalling, transmission as well as network
management for telecommunication,
    — lead in electronic ceramic parts (e.g. piezoelectronic devices).
8. Cadmium plating except for applications banned under Directive 91/338/EEC (1) amending Directive 76/769/EEC (2)
relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations.
9. Hexavalent chromium as an anti-corrosion of the carbon steel cooling system in absorption refrigerators.
10. Within the procedure referred to in Article 7(2), the Commission shall evaluate the applications for:
    — Deca BDE,
    — mercury in straight fluorescent lamps for special purposes,
    — lead in solders for servers, storage and storage array systems, network infrastructure equipment for switching,
signalling, transmission as well as network management for telecommunications (with a view to setting a
specific time limit for this exemption), and
    — light bulbs,

as a matter of priority in order to establish as soon as possible whether these items are to be amended accordingly.

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RoHS and WEEE Questions and Answers

ONLY FOR EUROPEAN COMMUNITY COUNTRIES

GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q. What is the difference between WEEE and RoHS?
WEEE is about Waste, or “what to do with the product at its end of life”
RoHS is about Restriction “what substances are restricted to use in electronic equipment”

Q. When must electronic equipment comply with these new rules?
WEEE regulations became active since August 2005, RoHS regulations becomes in effect from July
2006 on.

PRODUCT RELATED QUESTIONS

Q. Are batteries covered by RoHS?
No, they must be recycled at equipment end of life (WEEE regulation)

Q. What is understood under “electronic equipment”?
Equipment, which is depended on electric current or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly,
in other words; almost all battery or mains operated equipment.

Q. What type equipment must, at present time, NOT comply with RoHS after 01/06?
Equipment for measurement, monitoring, testing (multimeter, oscilloscopes, power supplies for
testing), . It is possible that these categories will be included within the scope of the RoHS Directive.
However, if approved, implementation is not expected before 2009 / 2010.

Q. Is there a restriction difference between professional used equipment and household equipment?
No there is no differentiation between professional used equipment and household equipment; both
are covered by the RoHS.

Q. Must DIY Kits (like our Kits) comply with the RoHS regulations?
Components do not fall within the scope of RoHS, so no Kits must not comply, but since components
will comply with RoHS (for use in equipment), automatically the Kits will comply as a result of this.
Most PCB’s used in our kits are already RoHS compliant.
DISTRIBUTION RELATED QUESTIONS

Q. Can I still sell non RoHS compliant equipment that I have not sold before July 1st 2006?
Yes, providing the equipment is placed on the market, in a warehouse etc, it can be sold after July
and it can also be maintained or repaired using non-compliant components.

Q. Can I manufacture and ship non-compliant equipment outside of the EU after July 2006?
Yes, there is nothing in the legislation to stop this at present time. (Check you local country
regulations).

Q. What is the policy regarding RoHS and WEEE?
We made clear to all our suppliers that non compliant products will be rejected on to the European
market (i.e. our warehouse) after the specific date.
Some of our products our already RoHS compliant

Q. Must a product be labeled if it is RoHS compliant?
No not at this time. It is however possible that our own RoHS compliant label will be put on products
for internal reference and for follow up.
Note: This Q and A section is a sum of our own interpretations and is by no means complete or binding.