Lead-Free Christmas Lights
October 26, 2009, by Debra Lynn Dadd
Question from Susan
Hello,
As a grandmother of two small children I am much more aware of all the terrible toxins we have around us. I have been searching daily for lead-free Christmas tree lights. Does anyone know where they can be purchased? I have heard that they are available outside the US, in Great Britain? I certainly do not want to subject the children to any more toxins.
Debra's Answer
What you want to look for are lights that are "RoHS compliant".
RoHS stands for "Restriction of Hazardous Substances." RoHS originated in the European Union and restricts the use of six hazardous materials found in electrical and electronic products.
The substances restricted under the RoHS directive include lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (CrVI), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). All products in the entire electronics industry in the EU market after July 1, 2006 must pass RoHS compliance. .
These are archives of Q&A asked by readers and answered by Debra Lynn Dadd (from 2005-2019) or Lisa Powers (from 2019-2020). Answers have been edited and updated as of December, 2020.