Background information to the RoHS directive

RoHS is an EU directive that restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. It regulates the use and distribution of hazardous substances in electrical equipment and electronic components. The restriction pertains to every single homogeneous material of the device – for example, plastic housing is included as well. Companies that import or sell such devices within the EU are directly affected by the directive because they are obliged to ensure compliance. Some substances used in electrical engineering are classified as environmentally hazardous. They may be toxic in certain quantities or the environment might not be able to break them down or is only able to break them down with difficulties. The RoHS directive intends to minimize the entry of these substances into the environment.

Best-known example: Leaded soldering of electronic components had to be replaced with lead-free soldering. The implementation of the RoHS directive requires a transformation of many common production processes. Today, tin-silver, tin-copper and tin-bismuth are just a few materials used as a replacement for leaded alloys.

How do you know which products are compliant? 

All our products are RoHS-compliant. They are marked with a green label showing “Compliant RoHS&REACH” next to a green tick on the packaging label. Additional icons in the datasheets also confirm compliance.