RoHS directive compliance

AudioRail Technologies ships a large proportion of its products overseas to many countries, including those in Europe. The European RoHS ("Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment") Directive 2002/95/EC prohibits the sale of most electrical and electronic equipment containing lead (Pb) and several other substances starting July 1, 2006.

We are pleased to announce that AudioRail is RoHS compliant for all shipments delivered to Europe, as of June 24, 2006. These units have a green RoHS label (shown above) on them.

In contrast to the glowing marketing declarations (accompanied by attractive "green" nature photographs) on most commercial industry websites, AudioRail Technologies does not agree in principle with the RoHS directive, even though we are legally obligated to it and will carefully abide by it. No scientific, engineering, or environmental study has ever been undertaken that demonstrates, or even suggests that non-RoHS electronic equipment poses any significant health or environmental danger in its life cycle and disposition. Neither has it been shown that the various RoHS materials used as substitutes do not pose health or environmental dangers. There is substantial wisdom pointing to the fallacy of the RoHS directive, as voiced by the overwhelming consensus of the scientific and engineering community. A recently created website at http://www.rohsusa.com is a good starting point for those wishing to investigate the issues. The European Union's decision was based explicitly on what they classify as a "precautionary principle," which means that no demonstration of adverse impact or scientific study was necessary to enact the law. While it is a fact that the banned substances are toxic in of themselves, the supposition that they would pose any significant threat to public health or the environment due to their use and disposition in electrical and electronic equipment is a highly dubious pretext that is not supported by any actual research or findings of fact.

WEEE directive compliance

The European WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive 2002/96/EC went into effect on August 13, 2005. Our products destined for Europe have a "wheelie-bin" label on them (shown above), indicating that they must be recycled and not simply disposed of in the trash. To comply with this directive, AudioRail Technologies, as the manufacturer and seller of its own equipment, is willing to pay the shipping cost to re-acquire any AudioRail product that a European customer wishes to dispose of. European customers should contact AudioRail Technologies at info@audiorail.com when they wish to dispose of the product.