Adopting the “green standards” set in place throughout Europe, the United States, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, and Australia is critical to our company as an independent global distributor of electronic components. Our role, however, is limited to our knowledge of the composition of our electronic components as stated by the manufacturers of these products. EE ALL Parts pledges to follow the RoHS Directive as closely as is possible given the available data.

What is RoHS Compliance?

On July 1, 2006, the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Compliance Directive took effect. The European Union (EU) initially adopted this directive three years earlier in 2003. Other countries quickly followed suit and have adopted their own versions of RoHS Compliance that should be followed.

The RoHS Directive states that certain materials must be restricted in specific types of consumer electronic products that are available for purchase in Europe. These materials include Mercury, Lead (Pb), Hrexavalent Chromium, Cadmium, and PBB/PBDE flame retardant materials.

Incorporating RoHS Compliance

Unfortunately, RoHS Compliance is not easily accomplished in all instances. The most commonly used element that is restricted by the RoHS Compliance is Lead. Identifying lead-free materials has not yet become standardized and so, some confusion remains as to which electronic parts can be identified as truly lead free and which ones cannot. In particular, it is essential to identify the Pb-free status of the materials that have been utilized in repair work, recycled parts, and printed circuit board assembly.

Reliance on Manufacturers to Uphold RoHS Compliance

As a result of the inability to identify offending components across the board per a standardized identification system, manufacturers utilize a variety of codes to designate RoHS compliant products, some of which are temporary codes that may change. We must rely on the documentation we receive from the manufacturers as to the RoHS compliance of the electronic components we obtain.

RoHS Compliance Documentation

Just as the responsibility of identifying the RoHS compliance of components lies with the manufacturer, the responsibility of identifying the compliance needs of the components lies with the procurer (purchasing agent for the customer) of the parts. It is the responsibility of EE ALL Parts to provide these parts per the specifications of the customer, relying on the compliance documentation that accompanies the electronic parts. Our goal is to avoid non-compliant products while procuring RoHS-compliant parts only. As new standards become available, our company will continue to incorporate them into our purchasing process.