Supplier guidance on the RoHS DIRECTIVE (2002/95/EC)13.04.06

Canford must meet the requirements of the RoHS Directive, which covers the Restriction of use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment. All products supplied to Canford must be compliant with the Directive, or exempt from it. Allcomponentssuppliedfor inclusion in Canfordand NEALmanufactured products must be compliant with the RoHS directive. It is important for component suppliers to be aware that we require parts to be compliant even if individual items may themselves be exempt, on the basis that they may be included in a manufactured product at some stage.

This document is intended only as a guide to provide assistance to suppliers by noting some examples of where the RestrictedHazardous Substancesmight be found and by noting the current exemptions. It is not exhaustive and does not supplant reference to the Directive itself or the regulations implementing the directive in the supplier’s member state, or the UK regulations for a supplier outside the EU.

If the compliance of a component with the requirements of the Directive relies on an exemption, it is important that this is noted in your compliance statement to us, since exemptions are liable to change.

The Directive requires that each separate homogeneous part of the component must not contain more than the specified concentrations of the following substances:

Lead (Pb)0.1% maximum

Cadmium (Cd)0.01% maximum

Mercury (Hg)0.1% maximum

Hexavalent Chromium (CrVI)0.1% maximum

Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)0.1% maximum

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)0.1% maximum

The definition of the term homogeneous in this context needs clarification. The requirement is that the concentration of each of these restricted substances must be below the specified level in any part of the component which is capable of being physically separated. e.g. the level of lead in the tinning on the wire of an electronic component must be below 0.1% because the tinning can be removed from the copper wire; the level of hexavalent chromium in the outer layer of the plating on a metal component must be below 0.1%

In due course we would like the compliance statement to be in the form of a materials declaration certificate stating the contents of the component. This can be either a hard copy (for which we can provide a template if required), or a link to a website, or at least an indication of your target date for being able to provide this information.

Some other sources of information:

Lead (Pb)0.1% maximum

Some examples of uses:

Solders; termination coatings; PCB coatings; glasses; electronic ceramics; in both active and passive electronic devices; paint (as pigment or drier); PVC (as a stabiliser, often in PVC sourced fromthe Far East).

Exemptions:

In glass of CRTs,electronic components and fluorescent tubes;

high melting point solders (SnPbwith > 85% Pb); electronic ceramic components e.g. piezo electric devices; alloys < 0.35% in steel < 0.4% in Aluminium < 4% in Copper.

Cadmium (Cd)0.01% maximum

Some examples of uses:

Electroplating; contacts; sensors; colour pigment (most likely are red, orange, yellow, but also found in green, black and white); stabiliser in plastics (often in PVC sourced from the Far East); in potentiometers.

Exemptions:

Cadmium plating unless banned by 91/338/EEC (1) amending 76/769/EEC (2)which means that in this context Cadmium is allowed for contacts.

Mercury (Hg)0.1% maximum

Some examples of uses

Fluorescent lamps; switches; sensors; relays.

Exemptions:

Compact fluorescents < 5mg per lamp;straight fluorescents:< 10mg halophosphate;

or < 5mg triphosphate for lamps with normal lifetime;

or 8mg triphosphate for lamps with long lifetime.

Hexavalent Chromium (CrVI)0.1% maximum

Some examples of uses:

Coatings on metals e.g. passivation of zinc plating (particularly yellow, olive, or blackpassivation); anticorrosion coating on unoiled Zintec; anticorrosion coating on aluminium (e.g.Alocrom, particularly yellow or olive); primers for coated metals; corrosion resistant paints; hard chrome; metallised plastics; pigment for paints/inks/plastics.

Exemptions: for anti-corrosion of steel in cooling system of absorption refrigerators.

Polybrominated biphenyls(PBB), Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)0.1% max

Some examples of uses:

Flame retardants in plastics(ABS may contain octa-BDE); in fire retardant cables.

Exemptions:as stated in Statutory Instrument 2005 No 2748.See

Batteries: the use of Lead, Cadmium and Mercury in batteries is covered by a separate Directive.