REACH legislation controls the risks associated with chemicals throughout their life cycle and applies to all substances, while RoHS is a product-specific vertical legislation that focuses on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

REACH, an acronym for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, is a European Union regulation that came into force on 1 June 2007. It applies to all chemical substances, including those used in everyday life, with the aim of improving the protection of human health and the environment from the risks deriving from dangerous substances and of promoting alternative methods for the hazard assessment of substances in order to reduce the number of tests on animals.

RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliance, also known as Directive 2002/95/EC, originated in the European Union and restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products (known as EEE). All applicable products placed on the EU market after July 1, 2006 must be RoHS compliant. The RoHS directive restricts the use of six hazardous substances, including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBBs, and PBDEs.

RoHS also applies to the metalworking industry for any application of metal plating, anodizing, chrome plating or other finishes on EEE components, heat sinks or connectors.