RoHS and WEEE Testing


There is no secret that in the EU, every sphere of the industry that concerns production falls under different regulations that concern waste exposure and recycled materials usage. When it comes to electronics, there are two directives that regulate the issues: RoHS and WEEE. They regulate the existence and concentration of harmful substances in various categories of production (RoHS) and responsibility for the proper recycling of electrical equipment (WEEE). These regulations can prevent appearance on the EU market in case of violation.

What is RoHS?

RoHS/WEEE

RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) works from July 1st, 2006. You may hear about it as a “no lead” directive. The directive regulates both EU producers and those companies aiming to enter the EU market. Instead of WEEE, RoHS sets the exact maximal concentrations of metals and substances allowed in product contents.

What is WEEE?

This European Directive has appeared simultaneously with the RoHS Directive. WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) regulates waste from the electrical and digital production industry. It gives recommendations concerning a part of recycled wastes per population. It inflicts the responsibility for waste recycling upon the producers of electronic items.

Main Substances That are Restricted by RoHS

Here is the substance and element list that contains ten restricted substances: Pure metals: cadmium, lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium.
Substances: polybrominated biphenyls, ether diphenyl, 2-Ethylhexyl, and phthalates of butyl benzyl, dibutyl, and diisobutyl. The maximal concentration allowed for these elements is 0.1% and 0.01% for Cadmium. Why is RoHS compliance important, and are these elements restricted?
The elements are quite stable and emit from electronic waste into the environment without changes. In such a way, they can occur in the human body, where they do not cause significant problems when they are in minor concentrations. However, they can be accumulated by different organs and raise the risk of cancer, hormonal disorders, and liver illnesses.

Categorizations of WEEE

WEEE and RoHS regulations concern the following spheres of industry and item categories:

  • Electric bulbs, their analogies, and other electric means of illumination, including diodes.
  • All kinds of ATM machines, slot vending machines, and refrigerators somehow contact food.
  • Everything that concerns telecommunications and information equipment.
  • Toys for all age categories.
  • Electric instruments.
  • Items used in leisure and sports.
  • Household electronics.
  • Gadgets and any kind of digital equipment.
  • All kinds of computer and electronic device details.
  • RoHS and WEEE Testing with the Elvatech Spectrometers

    As you can understand, a RoHS screening tool is a must for any company. If you would like to expand a market without spoiling the process of production, a portative and easy-to-use tester that conducts the exact analysis is what you need. For meeting all the RoHS requirements, the company Elvatech has produced a special RoHS screening equipment called ElvaX RoHS. Its main advantages are:

  • The automatic correction of material thickness influences XRF screening results.
  • The device is ergonomic, compact, and easy to use. At the same time, it gives very exact results of x-ray fluorescence analysis.
  • The automatic Cl contains correction that allows applying RoHS testing to different kinds of plastic without changing the setup.
  • Lead glass protects a user from possible aftereffects of using XRF testing.

  • If you need a mobile version, the ElvaX Mobile analyzer can perform RoHS testing as well. And, those who seek powerful static tools can pay attention to ElvaX Pro – a laboratory version of the XRF analyzer.

    Related products

    RoHS and WEEE (pdf)
    Download the ElvaX RoHS analyzer brochure

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