Lead Free RoHS & WEEE Regulations

As the manufacturing partner to our customers, at Clarydon we are committed to ensuring that all of our processes and the assemblies we supply are fully compliant with the latest legislations.

New directives under the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and restriction and use of certain hazardous substances (RoHS) regulations have dictated that components and assemblies must be ‘lead free’. That is in this context defined as less than 0.1% lead by weight.

As well as ongoing equipment review and identifying suitable lead free alloys, this approach has culminated in Clarydon producing lead free assemblies.

The WEEE directive was introduced into UK law in January 2007 by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Regulations 2006. Key aims are to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment being produced and to improve the environmental performance of businesses that manufacture and supply such equipment.

The RoHS directive set restrictions on European manufacturers as to the material content of new electronic equipment placed on the market. It restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It restricts the use of Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ether.

At present, legislation is in its second consultation phase and issues such as exemptions (e.g. military/medical), enforcement and relaxations (e.g. spares, components manufactured prior to July 2006) are still to be finally addressed.

One thing is clear is that, as things stand, the producer (original equipment manufacturer or OEM) is responsible for ensuring compliance with legislation by the appropriate cut off date.

If you are an existing customer or a potential new partner, please do not hesitate to contact us to see where we can be of assistance.