Scope of the RoHS Directive

The RoHS regulations apply to all EEE containing hazardous substances placed on the European Union Single Market on or after 1st July 2006.  If the products are household luminaires, filament lightbulbs or fall into categories 1-7 and 10 listed in Annex 1 of the WEEE Directive they are covered by the scope of the RoHS Directive.  The two WEEE categories not included are medical devices (category 8) and monitoring and control instruments (category 9) – however these are likely to come with scope by 2012.

See this flowchart to help you assess whether your products come under the scope of the WEEE Directive.

General exemptions

The RoHS Directive does not apply to:

• Medical devices and monitoring and control instruments already.
  
  
• Equipment essential to the protection of the security of Member States.
  
  
• Products that operate above 1,000 volts AC or above 1,500 volts DC.

Specific Exemptions

The RoHS Directive do not apply to:

• Large-scale stationary industrial tools. This is a machine or system consisting of a combination of equipment, systems or finished products and or components each of which is designed to be used in industry only, permanently fixed and installed by professionals at a given place in an industrial machinery or in an industrial building to perform a specific task.
  
  
• Spare parts for the repair of EEE placed on the market before 1st July 2006 and to replacement components that expand the capacity of and/or upgrade EEE placed on the market before 1st July 2006.
  
  
• The reuse of EEE placed on the market before 1st July 2006.
  
  
• The specific applications of mercury, lead, cadmium and hexavalent chromium set out in Schedule 2 of the regulations.

Other product types that are deemed to be outside the scope of the RoHS Directive

• Products where electricity is not the main power source
  
  Many products contain electrical and electronic components. An example might be an electric thermostat for a gas heating system. The regulations cover only those products dependent on electricity to function properly. In the above example the electric thermostat may be considered to be in the scope of the regulations, but the gas heating system may not.


• Products where the electrical or electronic components are not needed to fulfil the primary function
  
  Some products, particularly toys and novelty items, contain an electrical or electronic element to give added value. Often there are similar products on the market fulfilling the same function, but without these components. Examples might include musical greetings cards. These products still fulfil their primary function without their electronic components and could be considered to be outside the scope of the Directive.
  
  
• Items that are electrical and electronic equipment that is part of another type of equipment or a fixed installation.
  
  A “fixed installation” is defined as a combination of several equipment, systems, finished products and/or components assembled and/or erected by an assembler/installer at a given place to operate together in an expected environment to perform a specific task, but not intended to be placed on the market as a single functional or commercial unit.

Example of a product that may be excluded from the Regulations

Lighting equipment for use on aircraft. This equipment would be excluded as it is designed to be part of a product that is not within the scope of the Directive.