You’ve probably noticed many of our products are marked as RoHS compliant on our website and in our catalog, but what exactly does that mean?
Background
RoHS stands for “Restriction of Hazardous Substances” and is short for the directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, which originated in the European Union. The directive restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in the manufacture of various electrical components and equipment.
The EU has required all applicable products in the market be compliant since July 1, 2006.
What does RoHS mean?
RoHS is often thought of as being synonymous with “lead-free”, but the directive in fact restricts the use of not only lead, but of ten different substances:
- Lead (< 1000 ppm required)
- Mercury (< 100 ppm required)
- Cadmium (< 100 ppm required)
- Hexavalent chromium (< 1000 ppm required)
- Polybrominated biphenyls (< 1000 ppm required)
- Polybrominated diphenyl ether (< 1000 ppm required)
- Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (< 1000 ppm required)
- Butyl benzyl phthalate (< 1000 ppm required)
- Dibutyl phthalate (< 1000 ppm required)
- Diisobutyl phthalate (< 1000 ppm required)
While the RoHS directive is not currently in place in the United States, RoHS compliance is still a characteristic worth considering, as the restricted materials are hazardous to the environment and can pose dangers to health as well if not handled correctly.
Del City offers many RoHS compliant products, including new options for products traditionally containing some of the restricted materials. Some of these new product options include Lead-Free Crimp, Shrink, & Solder Terminals, and Pure Copper RoHS Battery Terminals. These new products even offer performance improvements over their traditional counterparts. Give them a try today!