RoHS is an acronym for; Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances. It’s actually a European directive. The idea is that a product can have only trace amounts (or no amount at all) of six poisonous substances:
- Cadmium (Cd)
- Mercury (Hg)
- Hexavalent chromium (Cr6+)
- Lead (Pb)
- Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
- Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)
While all of these chemicals or elements are found in nature, they’re all poisonous to plants and animals in anything but very small amounts. They’re also found in things like light bulbs, batteries, circuit boards, and are used in the manufacturing of the plastic and metal conveniences we sometimes take for granted.
RoHS went into effect in 2006 and it turns out to be a pretty tough standard to meet. If even one component fails, the entire part fails, and if the part fails, the whole product fails. Put it another way. If one capacitor in the radio isn’t RoHS compliant, the whole car isn’t RoHS compliant. It’s that tough to bear this logo.