The present document gives guidance regarding the chemical composition controls of steels (except chrome plated products) and cast irons in respect of the European legislation, namely Directives 2011/65/EU (RoHS) [1], repealing 2002/95/EU, the Commission Delegated Directive EU 2015/863 amending Annex II to Directive 2011/65/EU [10] and 2000/53/EC (ELV) [2].
These Directives require the characterization of these materials for cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and the four phthalates DEHP, BBP DBP and DIBP. Nevertheless, the Directives do not reflect the correspondence between these elements/compounds and the normal composition of each material concerned. In other words, for every material there is an obligation to determine all the compounds listed, independently of the relevance of such controls.