Since the manufacturing industry uses a lot of metals and chemicals in their production process, it is hard to say which is safe and which is harmful. However, there are certain directives which identify and restrict these hazardous materials and one of them is RoHS.
Despite these restrictions, there can be few products with the traces of restricted materials, and consequences for it can be serious. Let us understand what actually happens when restricted materials are found in the products.
Each of the member states has their enforcement authority, which have various procedures to deal with these encroachments. After finding out a restricted substance in a particular product, there are a few steps which they follow as part of a general rule.
Notice
The authoritative body will be notifying the companies that their products are violating the RoHS directives and they will outline their next steps in the notice for this violation. The authorities will be requesting technical documentation and will also notify a timeline for delivery.
The following data will be requested in the documents:
- Contact information for the ones who are responsible for the compliance.
- Basic company information like size, product catalogue and sales.
- General process overview which assists in the RoHS compliance efforts.
- Overview of the data quality systems and their supplier data.
Physical inspections
The inspection authorities can find the non-compliance of the products by spot-checking them right in the market itself. They will be purchasing a specific good from the market and will be taking it back to the lab for running the tests. This will help them identify the substances present in the product. This will be triggering the process and later to this, further physical testing will be conducted to understand the exact extent of the breach.
Removal from market
The products which are non-compliant will not be allowed in the market. Removing these products from the shelves is one of the main priorities of the companies and the authorities. There might be orders of voluntary recalls or there might be cases of forced removal by a member of the state authority. Most companies prefer collaborating closely with the enforcement authorities and handle the removals internally. Public exposure in these cases can cause lasting financial and reputational losses for the brands involved.
To omit the chances of such scenarios, it is always best to have industry experts like Enviropass RoHS compliance in place.
