The Restriction of Hazardous Substances, or RoHS, is a means of controlling or limiting specific substances when manufacturing electrical and electronic equipment (often abbreviated EEE). This set of compliance laws first went into effect 7 years ago, and revisions to the original regulations have been underway for over 5 years and were finally implemented into law in July of 2013.
Among others, here are the primary goals of RoHS2:
- To clear up any obscurities in the wording of the original RoHS
- To minimize harm to our environment caused by EEE by further increasing compliance
- To gradually extend the RoHS requirements to all EEE, cables, and spare parts
- To add new product categories such as medical devices and control instruments to the directive of products that must comply to RoHS standards
- To address concerns about the increasing volume of waste from EEE by restricting hazardous substances at the point of manufacture
- To mandate that manufacturers consider the availability of substance substitutes and the socioeconomic impact of these substitutions
- To clarify guidelines for granting and renewing exemptions
- To explain that it is the responsibility of the manufacturer or operator to apply for an exemption and to assess whether his tool or installation benefits from an exemption
- To reiterate that products still must comply with the minimum requirements laid out in the original RoHS
RoHS2’s first review is just a few short months away, due in January of 2014. The greatest issue for manufacturers as of now is whether the quality of products will be affected by RoHS2. We do know, however, that these regulations will take us one step closer to a greener world.