The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Regulations cover eight categories of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) which have a voltage of up to 1000 volts AC or 1500 volts DC:
- large household appliances, such as fridges and cookers
- small household appliances, such as irons and electric knives
- IT and telecommunication equipment, such as computers, printers and telephones
- consumer equipment, such as radios, television sets and musical instruments
- some lighting equipment, including electric light bulbs and fluorescent lamps
- electrical and electronic tools (except large stationary industrial tools), such as electric drills and other power tools
- toys, leisure and sports equipment, such as electric car racing sets and video games
- automatic dispensers, such as drink and food vending machines.
Exemptions from the RoHS regulations
The RoHS Regulations do not apply to:
- the reuse of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) placed on the market before 1 July 2006
- spare parts for the repair of EEE placed on the market before 1 July 2006
- large-scale stationary industrial tools with a voltage above 1000 volts AC or 1500 DC
- medical devices such as radiotherapy equipment, dialysis equipment and specialist medical freezers and refrigerators
- monitoring and control instruments including smoke detectors, heating regulators and other domestic, industrial and laboratory measuring devices
- certain specific uses of hazardous substances, for example, substances in certain types of lamps and lead in ceramic and crystal electronic devices (check annex C of the government guidance notes below for more details).
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has produced guidance with further details and examples of equipment covered by the RoHS Regulations.
The National Measurement Office has created a RoHS decision tree. Use the decision tree to see if your products need to comply with the requirements of RoHS
