“Already, billions of dollars have been spent on getting parts ready to meet the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. But there’s more - much more - as it turns out, and those costs are going to end up being passed along to consumers in slightly higher retail prices. The current estimates for monitoring compliance within Europe run at about $615m (€500m) to more than $1.1bn (€900m) per year, according to an official at the European Commission in Brussels. The Commission created the RoHS rules, as well as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations, which the member states adopted.” Source: electronicsweekly.com