element14 offers electronics industry free legislation guidance on RoHS recast directive

LONDON, UK: element14, a collaborative global electronics community from Premier Farnell plc, is providing additional resources and guidance on its comprehensive legislation page to help manufacturers and design engineers to better understand the recent changes made in the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive.

An informative free RoHS eBook, which addresses the recent recast changes and live chat with global legislative expert Gary Nevison, are available to demystify and expedite compliance.

While RoHS was put into effect by the European Union (EU) on July 1, 2006, it impacts any electronics manufacturer who is conducting global business. The original directive restricted six substances in the manufacturing of certain categories of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), including IT equipment. The recast, agreed in September 2010, will eventually include category 11, which will include all EEE not captured in categories 1 to 10, unless specifically excluded. The recast also outlines the dates when medical devices and monitoring and control instruments (along with additional exemptions) will fall within scope.

A seasoned product and legislation expert at global electronics distributor Premier Farnell for more than 30 years, Nevison has spoken extensively at legislation and environmental seminars around the world, serves on the Electronic Component Supply Network, and writes popular legislation blogs and articles for major electronics industry publications.

“Current legislation such as RoHS can be complex and often difficult to understand, but scarce information about legislation can cause even greater frustration,” said Gary Nevison, head of legislation and environmental affairs, element14. “The interactive legislation community page, in tandem with element14’s collaborative community of electronic engineers, underscores our commitment to providing as much data and resources possible in one easily accessible location to give engineers and other electronics professionals, the tools they need to succeed.”

The most comprehensive legislation site serving the electronics industry, element14 offers guidance on EU RoHS, China RoHS, Korea RoHS, REACH, ErP, WEEE, the Battery Directive plus state and provincial environmental laws in the US and Canada. Attracting more than 500 visitors per day, the legislation community page is a premier source of information and serves as a portal to connect with industry professionals.