These regulations restrict the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBE and PBDE in electronic and electrical equipment covered by the regulations.

Producers and importers into the European Union are responsible for ensuring that their products comply with the regulations and that that they maintain evidence of that compliance for inspection by the enforcement authority.

The RoHS enforcement authority has begun enforcement of the regulations since the coming into force and has already been working closely with trade associations, quality systems organisations and individual companies providing advice and support on the interpretation of the regulations.

Enforcement is broadly following the guidance developed by the European Enforcement Bodies Network which can be found on our web site www.rohs.gov.uk in the links section called ROHS Enforcement Guidance – May 06. This complements our policy of trying to help those that are aiming to comply and pursue vigorously those that intend to flout compliance with the regulations.

The delivery over time of our service will of course depend on the relative levels of compliance and the level of response received to initial requests for compliance information. We hope to continue to support UK producers over the coming months by working together towards full compliance with the regulations.

To find out if your product needs to comply with the RoHS requirements, you can refer to the “Decision Tree” section of the RoHS website (www.rohs.gov.uk). Alternatively you can attend one of the industry events listed in the “Events” section of the RoHS website, where a member of the RoHS enforcement team will be presenting and will endeavour to answer your query. If you are unable to resolve your query by using the “Decision Tree” or by attending one of the several events listed, then click on the “Enquiries” section of the RoHS website to send us your enquiry.