Mandatory Chemical Testing for RoHS Compliance: Insights into the EU and China Proposals

Recently, both the European Committee and the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued proposals for updated RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) requirements. While each proposal addressed many different updates to the standards, they shared one key attribute, drawing significant attention and concern from compliance experts and the electronics industry at large: required chemical testing.

What Do They Mean by “Mandatory Chemical Testing”?

Mandatory chemical testing in this case means “where there is indication that there is a risk of jeopardising or impairing the objectives of Directive 2011/65/EU, a test report should be a mandatory part of the technical documentation.”

What Does Chemical Testing Involve?

Chemical testing involves analyzing each homogeneous material in a product to identify restricted substances. (A homogeneous material is a material that has a uniform composition throughout and cannot be separated into different materials by mechanical means.) Typically, this process is destructive, requiring products to be dismantled to their base materials for laboratory analysis. While initial screening methods, such as XRF technology, can indicate the presence of certain substances, compliance often necessitates more rigorous testing methods involving digestion and specialized lab equipment. This entails conducting multiple tests, each targeting specific substances and detection thresholds.

The Benefits of Chemical Testing

Chemical testing is a great method for removing gaps in coverage as a result of uncooperative suppliers that may not be familiar with regulations your company is concerned about or may not feel it applies to them. It can ensure you have evidence to support your compliance claims in both technical packages for regulations like EU RoHS as well as due diligence requirements from many other regulations. It may also be used as a form of spot auditing your suppliers to ensure the documentation they provide is factual.

In order to meet lab testing requirements, companies must supply several physical samples to the testing laboratories, as the tests often require a significant amount of material for accurate analysis. Each test must adhere to approved methodologies for detecting specific substances, further complicating the compliance process.

The Challenges With Chemical Testing in Electronics

The electronics industry is concerned with the financial and logistical burdens of mandatory chemical testing. Here are the primary challenges:

1. High Costs: Testing involves substantial expenses, including laboratory labor, chemicals, equipment, and resources. These costs can accumulate quickly, especially for complex products requiring multiple tests.
2. Time-Intensive Process: The testing timeline includes shipping, product disassembly, digestion incubation, analysis, and reporting. Depending on the product’s complexity, this process can take weeks or even months.
3. Accreditation and Audits: Companies must also ensure their chosen testing laboratories are accredited and capable of meeting regulatory requirements. In some cases, mandatory audits of these labs add another layer of cost and complexity. Organizations must also factor in the risks of contamination via the shipping and storage environment of your products and evaluate your chosen lab’s procedures.
4. Selective Testing Practices: Not all materials in a product may undergo testing. Some materials may be impossible for a specific lab to test due to incompatibility with equipment, the ability to separate homogeneous materials,or your capability to provide the lab with enough samples. There’s also the waste aspect: why test a material that’s not compatible with a restricted substance? Laboratories may rely on screens and selective testing to save time and resources, potentially leaving gaps in compliance assurance. Companies must thoroughly understand the scope of the tests conducted, which requires a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with chemistry.
5. Ongoing Testing Requirements: Test reports are often valid only for a limited time, necessitating repeated testing as regulations evolve and products are updated, which means companies will have to pay to go through the expensive testing process over and over again.

The Broader Implications of Mandatory Chemical Testing

Required chemical testing raises questions about cost allocation and implementation. Companies should not expect to simply replace supplier-provided certificates of compliance with supplier-provided test reports. This new requirement will still present the same challenges as before, including uncooperative and unresponsive suppliers, increased testing volumes, and the need to verify test reports. For instance, a supplier-provided test report may still be invalid if it originates from a non-accredited lab, uses improper testing methods, or has other deficiencies.

Contradictory results from different labs using different methods due to varying regulatory requirements will also add further complexity to an already intricate compliance landscape.

Expect Further Strain on Supply Chain Transparency

Another significant challenge with this new testing requirement is how it contradicts global goals surrounding supply chain transparency and sustainability. Supplier-provided certificates of compliance (CoCs) are cheaper than the proposed chemical testing, and have thus garnered more support among supply chain stakeholders. 

Many suppliers may resist—or simply not be able to afford—mandatory chemical testing, opting instead to shift the burden onto downstream supply chain actors or cease sales to countries enforcing these regulations. This will lead to chemical testing at multiple levels in the supply chain, resulting in costly duplication and inefficiencies that would increase carbon emissions, generate chemical waste, and increase the use of resources like electricity and water. 

In Conclusion

While chemical testing is often utilized in compliance programs, mandatory chemical testing implementation poses significant challenges for the electronics industry. The financial, logistical, and sustainability implications of these proposals could inadvertently undermine the very objectives these regulations aim to achieve. Policymakers and industry stakeholders must collaborate to develop compliance strategies that balance regulatory rigor with practicality, ensuring both transparency and environmental sustainability. Without a nuanced approach that balances all compliance strategies, the proposed measures risk creating inefficiencies that hinder real, substantive progress toward a more sustainable, decarbonized global supply chain.

If you would like to comment on the proposals:

Send your comments on the EU proposal to ENV-RoHS@ec.europa.eu by December 20.

Send your comments for the Chinese proposal; see the requirements here to submit to KJBZ@miit.gov.cn by January 18.