RoHS

The European legislation has banned the content of particular hazardous substances in electronic devices in order to conform to environmental standards and to simplify recycling (Restrictions of certain Hazardous Substances – RoHS). Aside from different organic substances, the ban includes cadmium, lead, chromium-(VI) and mercury. Conventional solder has so far contained a considerable amount of lead. Since the RoHS Directive was introduced, these types of solders are prohibited and, as a result, the corresponding processes were converted to include lead-free solders. Different polymers that are used for cable insulation and housing parts may also include these elements in the form of pigments or contamination due to recycling materials.

To prove the conformity of the products with the European standard, raw material and products must be tested for these substances. Since plastics are homogeneous due to production-related reasons and mostly occur as granulates, solid AA^® is the method of choice here. The analysis is simplified further as no matrix effects occur and liquid calibration standards can thus be used – in contrast to other solid methods, which usually require solid calibration standards and certified reference material.

Signal profile Pb, 13.8 mg/kg

Sample weight 1.5 - 2 mg plastic each,
sensitivity reduced by selection of secondary wavelengths
Red = analyte signal
Blue = background signal

Application examples