Concepts

Article (REACH)

Article

Under REACH, an object whose shape, surface or design decides its function more than its chemical makeup, such as a cable, a screw or a phone housing.

Authorisation (REACH)

Authorisation

The REACH process for the most hazardous substances, which are placed on Annex XIV. After a set sunset date a listed substance may only be used if the Commission has granted a specific authorisation for that use.

Bill of Materials (BOM)

BOM

A structured list of every part and material in a product. It is the backbone of a material declaration and a compliance assessment, because you can only check what you have listed.

CAS Number

CAS number

A unique numeric identifier assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service to every distinct chemical substance, used to name substances unambiguously in declarations.

CE Marking

CE marking

The manufacturer's own statement that a product meets the EU rules that apply to it. For electronics that includes RoHS. It is self-declared, not a quality mark, and not issued by any authority.

Circular Economy

Circular economy

An economic model that keeps materials in use as long as possible through reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling, cutting waste and raw-material demand. It is the idea behind WEEE, ELV, the Ecodesign Regulation and the SCIP database.

CMR: Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, Reprotoxic

CMR

Three hazard categories that drive much of chemicals law: carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction. A CMR classification often leads to REACH restriction or candidate listing.

Concentration Limit

Concentration limit

The level above which a substance must be reported or is restricted, most often 0.1 percent by weight in articles.

Conformity Assessment

Conformity assessment

The process of checking and showing that a product meets the applicable requirements before it is sold. For RoHS it ends in the technical file, the EU Declaration of Conformity and the CE mark.

CoRAP: Community Rolling Action Plan

CoRAP

REACH's rolling watch-list of substances being evaluated by member-state authorities. It is an early signal that a substance may face restriction.

Declarable Substance: Obligation vs. Interest

Declarable Substance

A substance you have to report in a material declaration, distinct from one you merely watch because its status may change.

Digital Product Passport

DPP

A structured, digitally accessible record of a product's key data, introduced by the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. It is phased in by product group, with batteries among the first.

DSL: Declarable Substance List

DSL

The maintained reference list at the heart of IEC 62474. It is the authoritative set of substances and substance groups that must be declared, each with a stated reason.

Due Diligence

Due diligence

A structured process to find, prevent and account for risks in a supply chain, such as conflict minerals, human rights or environmental harm. The OECD Due Diligence Guidance is the common framework, and the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation builds on it.

EC Number

EC number

A seven-digit identifier in the format NNN-NNN-N assigned to substances in the European inventory, used alongside the CAS number.

Economic Operators

Economic operators

The supply-chain roles that carry product compliance duties. Manufacturer, importer and distributor each have different obligations, and under REACH the downstream user is a company that uses a substance or mixture in its own activity.

EEE: Electrical and Electronic Equipment

EEE

Equipment that depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work, or that generates, transfers or measures them, rated up to 1000 V AC or 1500 V DC. It is the scope unit for RoHS and WEEE.

Endocrine Disruptor

Endocrine disruptor

A substance that interferes with the hormone system. It can be listed as an SVHC on the grounds of equivalent concern, and examples include bisphenol A and some phthalates.

EU Declaration of Conformity

A single document in which the manufacturer declares that a product meets all applicable EU legislation, naming the directives and regulations and the standards used. It underpins the CE marking.

Exemption

A time-limited permission to use a restricted substance in a specific application where no good substitute exists yet. RoHS lists its exemptions in Annex III and Annex IV, each with an expiry date that has to be renewed.

FMD: Full Material Declaration

FMD

A declaration that lists every substance in a part down to the homogeneous material level. It is the most complete and reusable form of material disclosure.

GHS: Globally Harmonised System

GHS

A United Nations system that standardises how chemical hazards are classified and labelled worldwide, using shared hazard classes, pictograms and statements. The EU puts it into law as the CLP Regulation.

Halogen-Free

Halogen-free

A voluntary specification for electronics, where bromine and chlorine are kept below set thresholds, driven by concerns about brominated flame retardants.

Hazard Labelling (H and P statements)

Hazard labelling

How chemical hazards are communicated on a label: red-bordered pictograms, a signal word, hazard statements that describe the danger, and precautionary statements that say how to handle it. The rules come from CLP and GHS.

Homogeneous Material

Homogeneous material

The smallest unit of material that cannot be mechanically separated into different materials. It is the level at which RoHS concentration limits actually apply.

Mixture

Two or more substances combined but not chemically reacted, such as paint, ink, solder paste or adhesive.

Only Representative (OR)

Only Representative

Under REACH a manufacturer based outside the EU can appoint an EU-based Only Representative to take over the registration duties that would otherwise fall on EU importers, covering the importers along the chain.

Open Scope

Open scope

A way of defining a rule's reach. Under open scope RoHS covers all electrical and electronic equipment unless a category is explicitly excluded, rather than listing only the categories that are included.

PBT and vPvB

PBT / vPvB

PBT means persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. vPvB means very persistent and very bioaccumulative. These criteria flag substances that last in the environment and build up in living things.

Placing on the Market

Placing on the market

The first time a product is made available on the EU market. It is the moment most compliance duties take effect, and it fixes which version of the rules applies to that product.

Product Compliance

The umbrella term for everything a product must satisfy before it can be sold, covering legal rules and customer requirements, of which chemical compliance is one part.

Recycled Content

Recycled content

The share of a product made from recycled material instead of virgin material. EU rules increasingly set minimum recycled-content levels, including in the Battery Regulation, the Ecodesign Regulation and packaging rules.

Restriction (REACH)

Restriction

A REACH restriction, listed in Annex XVII, bans or limits a substance for certain uses directly, with no application process. The limit simply applies.

Safety Data Sheet

A 16-section document, with a format set by REACH, giving hazard, handling and safe-use information for a substance or mixture. It covers substances and mixtures, not articles.

Substance (REACH)

Substance

A chemical element or compound under REACH, including its additives and impurities, and the base unit that gets registered.

Substance List

A maintained list of substances that are restricted, banned, or must be declared. It is the reference a material declaration is checked against.

SVHC: Substance of Very High Concern

SVHC

Under REACH, a substance with serious effects on human health or the environment. SVHCs are placed on the Candidate List and trigger communication and notification duties.

Technical Documentation

Technical documentation

The evidence a manufacturer compiles and keeps to show a product meets the rules. For RoHS it is built to EN IEC 63000 and usually kept for about ten years.

UVCB Substance

UVCB

A substance of Unknown or Variable composition, Complex reaction products, or Biological materials, which cannot be pinned down by a single formula or CAS number.

XRF Screening

XRF

X-ray fluorescence is a fast, non-destructive way to estimate the elemental content of a part, for example lead or bromine. It screens samples and flags the ones that need closer laboratory analysis under IEC 62321.