Latest progress of RoHS in EU, Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea

Introduction to RoHS:

RoHS is a mandatory standard formulated by EU legislation. Its full name is the restriction of hazardous substances. The standard was officially implemented on July 1, 2006. It is mainly used to standardize the materials and technical standards of electronic and electrical products, so as to make it more conducive to human health and environmental protection.

The purpose of this standard is to eliminate lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and four kinds of o-benzene in electronic and electrical products.

Update progress of EU Common exemptions

On September 15, 2021, the EU announced that the evaluation report of pack 22 on the exemption provisions of RoHS directive will be published in early October, and the evaluation results will directly affect whether the exemption provisions involved can be extended. The evaluation project of pack 22 covers nine articles 6 (a), 6 (a) - I, 6 (b) - I, 6 (b) - II, 6 (c), 7 (a), 7 (c) - I and 7 (c) - II of RoHS annex III, At present, the first draft of the evaluation report of most exemptions is in the final approval stage, and the evaluation of Article 7 (a) is in the final drafting stage. Officials expect to release the final version containing all exemptions in early October after obtaining the approval of the European Commission.

In addition, for the pack 24 assessment project, involving exemptions 5b, 18 (b), 18 (b) - I, 24, 29, 32 and 34 of Annex III and 34 of Annex IV, it is planned to submit the first draft report to the European Commission at the end of September. According to relevant opinions, the integrated document is expected to be completed in October, and the report will be released once approved.

These exemptions will remain in force until the results of the assessment are published; After the evaluation, a new exemption period may be formulated or the terms may be revoked. If the exemption is revoked after the evaluation, 12 to 18 months will be set for the transition of replacement materials in the industry.

Saudi Arabia officially issued RoHS technical regulations

On July 9, 2021, the Saudi standards, metrology and quality organization (SASO) officially issued the technical regulations on restricting the use of hazardous substances in electronic and electrical equipment (SASO RoHS). The six categories of electronic and electrical products controlled by the regulations must meet the requirements before they can enter the Saudi market. The law is mandatory from January 5, 2022.

Conformity assessment

The manufacturer must obtain a certificate of conformity (type 1A) in accordance with the standard ISO / iec17067 issued by a SASO approved authority. At the same time, the product shall be attached with technical documents, including the supplier's self-compliance statement, risk assessment documents, warnings, precautions and operation manuals for safe and correct use of the product.

Japan released 2021 new version of J-MOSS (Japan RoHS)

J-MOSS refers to the Japanese mandatory Industry Standard JIS C 0950 content identification of specific chemical substances in electrical and electronic equipment (commonly known as Japan RoHS), which specifies the rules and concentration limits of "containing identification" of 6 specific chemical substances in 7 specific electrical and electronic products, and provides detailed guidance on the identification of these hazardous substances.

In addition, Japan's law on promoting the effective utilization of resources (Japan recycling law) also requires enterprises to indicate whether they contain 6 kinds of harmful substances in specific types of electrical and electronic products.

The new version of Japanese industrial standards decree JIS C 0950: 2021 has been officially implemented on March 22, 2021 and replaces the old version of JIS C 0950: 2008. Compared with the previous version, the main difference lies in the revision of orange logo and exemption items. The standard specifies the identification methods of specific chemicals in seven categories of electrical and electronic products (personal computers, unit air conditioners, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens and clothes dryers). At the same time, it is stipulated that electrical and electronic products not within the scope of J-MOSS products can also refer to this law to manage specific chemical substances.

Including identification requirements:

If the content of any of the six controlled substances in the seven categories of products under control exceeds the standard value and is not within the exemption range, it is necessary to force the products to affix the containing label (orange label) and list the content of harmful substances in the equipment on the relevant website. If the content of the six controlled substances does not exceed the maximum concentration limit, the green mark can be applied.

Korea RoHS update product range and hazardous substances

On November 24, 2020, the resource recycling division of the Ministry of environment of the Republic of Korea issued Presidential Decree No. 31184 to amend the order for the implementation of the law on the recycling of electrical and electronic products and automobile resources (RoHS of the Republic of Korea). The range of products under control will be increased to 49 categories from January 1, 2021, and four restrictions on orthobenzene will be added, which will be implemented from July 1, 2021.

New product category: according to Presidential Decree No. 31184, the product category controlled by RoHS in Korea has been increased from 26 to 49.