Page 411 - Robot Builder's Bonanza

380 BUILDING ROBOT ELECTRONICS— THE BASICS

worldwide effort to reduce the amount of toxic materials in commercially produced electronic
devices. These materials— which include lead, mercury, and cadmium— present significant
health hazards as tons of discarded electronic circuit boards are dumped into landfills. Yecch!,
as Alfred E. Neuman would say.
In following various international laws, many sellers of electronic components and com-
pleted circuits list whether a product is RoHS compliant. In the case of electronic compo-
nents, RoHS compliance typically indicates that the use of lead is either reduced or eliminated.
Not being in compliance does not mean the product is inferior, just that its manufacture does
not yet meet the very strict RoHS standards.

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