Package details RoHS and ElektroG screening

Information package developed to help businesses deal with the regulations and offers explanations of the analytical instruments and methods best suited for examining potentially harmful substances

Spectro Analytical Instruments has a free information package available for those interested in the analytical requirements for the European Union's RoHS (Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directives.

The package includes an informative, six-page brochure, 'Screening and Analysis of Electrical Instruments and Components', as well as instructive application reports.

The package was developed to help affected businesses deal with the new regulations and offers explanations of the analytical instruments and methods best suited for examining potentially harmful substances.

The RoHS directive forbids the use of the hazardous metals cadmium, lead and mercury as well as hexavalent chromium and the brominated flame retardants containing PBB and PBDE.

The limiting value for cadmium in all electrical and electronic instruments and components marketed in the EU is set to 100mg/kg.

The concentrations for lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium as well as the bromine-based flame-retardants, PBB and PBDE, are not allowed to exceed 1000 mg/kg.

The WEEE directive defines recycling quotas for old appliances, regulates the recycling and reuse of electrical and electronic waste.

Companies are required to prove that these limitations have been met with adequate screenings and analyses.

To prevent hazardous substances from entering into recycling products, companies are required to continuously prove that hazardous substance limitations have been met in recycled materials and recycling products.

Spectro's brochure, which is available on-line in German and English, serves as an easy to understand introduction for companies in the electrical and electronics industries.

It summarises key points within the guidelines and provides an overview of the products and technologies used to examine the products defined in RoHS and ElektroG and for determining that limiting values have been met.

The brochure concentrates on two of the procedures recommended by the International Electro-Technical Commission in the IEC 111 24/CD: energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRFA) that allows for quick quantitative screenings with minimal sample preparation and optical emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma that provides additional clarity if the measurement results from the EDXRF analyser are considered ambiguous.

In addition, Spectro's website offers four current application reports from Spectro that illustrate in detail how the RoHS limiting values can be verified with the EDXRFA spectrometers Xepos, Midex and Midex M as well as the Spectro Ciros Vision ICP OES.

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