Conformity Magazine - December 2007 - (Page 21) J uly 1, 2006 was a watershed date for companies selling electrical and/or electronic equipment into the European Union (EU). That was the date mandated for compliance with Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. This directive is commonly known as the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive – RoHS for short. This directive, along with the associated directive, 2002/96/EC, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), sets limits on the allowable levels of listed hazardous materials in a number of products available in the EU. While RoHS is commonly referred to as the “lead-free” directive, in actuality the following six substances are covered by these restrictions: 1) lead; 2) mercury; 3) cadmium; 4) hexavalent chromium; 5) polybrominated biphenyls (PBB); and 6) polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). The IPC (the industry association representing electronic interconnection manufacturers in the United States) has raised a number of concerns about the requirements for lead-free soldering, arguing that the U.S. electronic interconnection industry uses less than 2% of the world’s annual lead consumption, and that available scientific evidence and government reports indicate that the lead used in U.S. printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing and electronic assembly produces no significant environmental or health hazards. However, even given these inputs, it is unlikely that the inexorable movement to lead-free soldering will be slowed. RoHS in the European Union As defined in the EU’s RoHS Directive, “electrical and electronic equipment” is equipment which is: 1. Dependent on electric currents, or electromagnetic fields, in order to work properly, including equipment for the generation, transfer, and measurements of such currents and fields; Designed for use with voltage rating not exceeding 1,000V for alternating current, and 1,500V for direct current; and Falls into one of the ten categories in Schedule 1 of the requirements outlined in the directive. maximum concentrations are 0.1%, or 100 ppm by weight of the homogeneous product; the allowable limit for cadmium is limited to 0.01%, or 10 ppm. The manufacturer must be careful of the above limits as they do not apply to the entire finished product but instead to any single homogeneous material which could be physically separated. For example, a product containing a lead flywheel used to provide easier knob rotation could be considered noncompliant if the flywheel could be physically separated from the product, even if the lead content of the flywheel was less than 0.1% of the total product weight. RoHS Regulations in Other Countries The concern over environmentally hazardous materials is spreading throughout the world, with a number of the Pacific Rim countries (including China and Japan) beginning work on their own versions of RoHS regulations. China RoHS regulations are slightly different from those in the EU. Instead of having a general classification with a lengthy list of exemptions, China will generate a list of included products. This list will be embedded in the totality of Electronic Information Products (or EIPs) to which the regulations will apply. And, of course, there is a different marking requirement for products complying with China RoHS. Japan, on the other hand, has its own marking 2. 3. However, many products are exempted from the provisions of the RoHS Directive, including medical devices, military equipment, some fluorescent lamps, and batteries (at this time, batteries have now been listed under the EU’s 1991 Battery Directive, 91/157/EEC). For the six listed substances (cadmium excepted), the December 2007 conformity 21 http://www.spira-emi.com http://www.spira-emi.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.