Product Life Cycle

Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS)

The European Union Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive restricts the use of harmful substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium in products. The National Instruments Hazardous Substance Reduction initiative is a voluntary program modeled after the European Union Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive.

The RoHS directive applies to eight categories of electrical and electronic equipment but excludes products in Category 9, Monitoring and Control Instruments, under which NI products fall. By complying with the directive, NI demonstrates a commitment to the environment, its employees, and its customers, who can use NI components to design and develop their own environmentally friendly products.

Timeline
Since the 1990s, NI has researched and tested methods for reducing the use of certain hazardous substances in its products. NI began offering RoHS-compliant products in September 2005 and continued with the releases of additional compliant products in subsequent years. NI manufacturing and engineering teams continually work to adapt products to use RoHS-compliant components and manufacturing processes. As of today, NI has transitioned a substantial number of core products to RoHS compliance.

The move to RoHS-compliant products is a significant effort because it impacts nearly every step in the supply chain. Therefore, NI will complete this transition over a progressive timeline as new products release and some existing products transition to hazardous substance-free components. At this pace, NI will transition all products before the RoHS directive includes the category under which NI products fall.

All products released in 2010 were RoHS-compliant, with the exception of a few select products. Starting in 2007, each exception case required officer-level approval. In some instances, high-demand products require components that are not available in a RoHS-compliant version. After these products release, NI adds them to the list of products pending a transition to RoHS compliance.

Challenges
In addition to the far-reaching impact on the supply chain, NI faces the following challenges in the process of eliminating hazardous substances from its products:

• Organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have found that the replacement options for certain hazardous substances may have an environmental impact equal to or worse than the original hazardous substance. To mitigate this issue, NI is actively involved with numerous trade organizations around the world. Through involvement with these organizations and close relationships with suppliers, NI stays at the forefront of both advanced technological developments in materials and compliance with worldwide regulations of hazardous substances. For more information, see the full EPA report.
• Regulations in this area evolve rapidly. NI is a member of the Test and Measurement Coalition and is providing feedback on the revision of RoHS currently under review and planned for publication in 2010.

View the full text of the RoHS directive. For more information about NI compliance with RoHS, contact rohs@ni.com.

Resources
Refer to the following NI resources to learn more about the RoHS directive.

• Frequently Asked Questions
• NI RoHS-Compliant Product Listing
• Management Methods for Controlling Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products (China RoHS)
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive