Hazardous substances in the equipment / RHOS

 

Hazardous substances in equipment are materials or chemicals that are hazardous to health due to their physical properties and/or chemical characteristics. In household appliances, they are present in small doses and, when the appliances are used as intended, the exposure to these substances is very low (for example, the circuit board that is part of the control system of a vacuum cleaner, which may contain harmful phenol compounds, is not in direct contact with the skin). The risk increases significantly if WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) is improperly stored or disposed of. Harmful substances can first get into the soil, then into groundwater, and further contribute to acid rain or get into plants that draw nutrients from the soil.

The European Union aims to reduce or eliminate some of the hazardous substances in electronic equipment. One of the tools to achieve this goal is the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive, which came into force on January 3, 2013. According to the provisions of this document, electronic equipment placed on the market in the EU and EFTA contains restrictions on the content of harmful materials: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).

Annex II to the directive specifies the maximum concentrations of the mentioned elements/substances in homogeneous material:

Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/863 further expanded the list of restricted substances to include di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP).