Unraveling the mystery of RoHS exemptions
By Drew Wilson
Green SupplyLine
If you are seeking an exemption from the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, the European Union (EU) unfortunately offers no precise guidance or tidy procedures to follow, and no official will say an exemption is granted or denied. So how do you get an exemption? Build your case by getting others to agree and declare victory. Essentially that's the way it's done.
The first step is to determine if the product is within the scope of the RoHS directive. Specific product categories such as medical, military, industrial monitoring and control, automotive and telecommunications are excluded. Therefore, if a manufacturer produces a product that it believes is a monitoring and control device, for example, a meter for measuring voltage, then they don't need to do anything; the product is not subject to RoHS.
Moreover, spare parts are not subject to RoHS requirements, provided they are used for products put on the market before July 1, 2006.
If the product doesn't fit into an excluded category, the next step is to check the exemptions list in the annex on page five of the RoHS directive. There are a number of agreed upon product application exemptions such as lead in high melting temperature solders.
5 Action items
- First look at Article 2 under “Scope” in the RoHS directive, which refers to product categories in the WEEE directive’s Annex 1A. If a product is not covered by Categories 1 to 7 or 10 in Annex 1A, than it is not within the scope of RoHS, and need not be RoHS compliant.
- Review carefully the product application exemptions listed in the RoHS Annex. Some are for components only. Does your product or component use one of the listed applications? If so, that specific application is exempt, but the rest of the product must meet RoHS requirements.
- Look at the list of proposed exemptions the EU is now evaluating. Do any apply to your product? Let the EU know you support the exemption and why.
- Uncertain if an exemption, either in the RoHS directive or pending, applies to your product? Write a justification. Gather supporting assessments from technical consultants and/or a legal opinion. Send everything to the EU Commission and ask for an informal comment. Keep all the responses in a file to show due diligence.
- The product is not exempt, but you believe it should be. Propose a new exemption. Get technical assessments and legal opinion; write a justification and send it to the EU commission.
To check if your product falls within the scope of RoHS, a FAQ published by the EU is helpful: NOTE: Scroll down to "Other Related Documents" and click on the link.
23 of the pending exemptions currently under review can be found on the EU web site: NOTE: Click on the title to show the substantiating evidence for the exemption.
After gathering supporting technical and/or legal assessments for a specific exemption, the EU commission may be contacted to review the documents and offer an informal opinion. A point of contact for RoHS exemption issues is: Anna Passera European Commission DG Environment, Unit A.2., Avenue de Beaulieu/Beaulieulaan 5, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium Anna.Passera@cec.eu.int
Read the entire Green SupplyLine article "Unraveling the mystery of RoHS exemptions".
