Reduction of Hazardous Substances Frequently Asked Questions
| What are hazardous materials? | Hazardous materials are those chemicals and substances that are legislatively, market, or customer banned or restricted for use in products and/or manufacturing. |
| What is RoHS? | RoHS is the acronym used to refer to the European Union (EU) Directive
2002/95/EC on the Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances
in electrical and electronic equipment. For Cisco's position regarding RoHS, click here |
| What are the RoHS listed substances? | There are six (6) RoHS substances: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), hexavalent chromium (Cr+6), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE). |
| Is the EU RoHS Directive only applicable to products sold into the European Union? | Yes, however other countries are drafting RoHS-type legislation and Cisco anticipates similar regulations may eventually be adopted worldwide. |
| Do any Cisco products contain RoHS substances? | Yes. Most pre-RoHS electrical and electronic products used basic tin/lead solder technology, and many Cisco products will continue to use lead-based solders under the exemption allowed for network infrastructure equipment.
As of 1st July 2006, RoHS substances in Cisco products are either less than the specified RoHS limits, or will fall under exemption(s) exercised by Cisco. |
| When is Cisco's EU RoHS compliance implementation date for its products? | Cisco's EU RoHS compliance implementation came into effect on 1st July 2006. |
| What is Cisco's point of contact for more information about it's RoHS program? | For more information on Cisco's RoHS program, please email environment@cisco.com, or contact your Cisco business representative. |
| Can Cisco provide companies with product EU RoHS declarations? | EU RoHS declarations for Cisco products are available online by contacting environment@cisco.com. |
| What is Cisco's position on the use of lead in products? | Lead has been used widely in the electronics industry, both in electronic
and electrical components and also in lead-based solder. The RoHS Directive
requires that the use of lead is phased out by the electronic industry
and substituted with alternative materials.
Some lead-free components have already been integrated into Cisco products, but reliable alternatives to lead-based solders have proven difficult to find for certain applications. The EU has recognized this issue and the RoHS Directive has included exemptions for a number of product categories. Cisco will exercise the network infrastructure exemption until lead-free alternatives are identified that meet the performance requirements of its products. Cisco continues to work with its suppliers to find reliable lead-free alternatives. Cisco will transition products to be lead-free over time as reliable lead-free technologies are developed and validated. |
| What is Cisco's Strategy for Service Replacement of equipment? | Cisco's service offerings in the EEA (European Economic Area) will meet all requirements of the RoHS Directive, including the use of exemptions that specifically apply to repair or replacement and reuse of equipment. In addition, non-RoHS products placed on the EU Market prior to 1 July 2006 are allowed to be maintained with non-RoHS replacement parts. Cisco will continue to service non-RoHS equipment; there will be no changes to existing Cisco service agreements. |