Conformity 2008 Engineers' Reference Guide

he year 2007 began with President Bush’s announcement regarding a surge of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and ended with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan. In between, a student at Virginia Tech shot and killed 32 students before killing himself, an eightlane interstate bridge in Minneapolis, MN collapsed, killing 13 people and injuring at least 60, and six miners were trapped and presumed lost in a Utah coal mine, despite herculean efforts to save them. Al Gore was co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to educate public about the dangers of human-caused climate change, and the U.S. 2008 presidential campaign began, an unprecedented 18 plus months before the general election takes place this coming November. Against the backdrop of these and other national and global events during the past year, it might seem challenging for any news on the regulatory compliance front to break through. In fact, 2007 was also filled with regulatory news that made the year one of the most active in recent memory. Perhaps the most significant activity occurred around the discovery of numerous unsafe products imported from China, from bargain store toothpaste to children’s toys. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that a number of toothpaste brands typically sold through so-called “only a dollar” retailers contained diethylene glycol (DEG), a chemical used in antifreeze. And, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Mattel Toys launched a massive recall of toys manufactured in China found to contain unacceptable levels of lead paint. Since 40% of consumer products imported into the United States originate from China, that country aggressively stepped up its own surveillance efforts, encouraged in part by threats of import curbs and other retaliatory measures by both the United States and the European Union. But the apparent ease with which these unsafe products found their way into the U.S. consumer marketplace T The Year in Review also turned the spotlight on the federal agencies mandated to protect the American public against such products. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) became the subject of several Congressional inquiries, and was the focus of an in-depth investigative article published by the New York Times, in which Americans learned that the agency had only one staffer devoted to the testing of toys. And, over at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an internal panel found that the agency lacked sufficient resources to ensure the public’s safety from unsafe food and medical products. Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) spent much of the year laying the groundwork for future events, including the much-anticipated auction of spectrum within the 700 MHz public safety band, scheduled to begin in February 2008, and the transition to digital broadcast television, scheduled for February 2009. The FCC also continued its tough regulatory enforcement efforts in 2007, with a second year of record fines against non-compliant companies. The agency issued dozens of citations against traditional and on-line retailers for failing to provide consumers with mandated information about analogonly televisions, and proposed a $3 million fine against an importer of non-DTV compliant televisions. The Commission also proposed a $3 million fine against three wireless carriers for failing to achieve required benchmarks for access to enhanced 911 services by their subscribers, and a $2 million plus fine against a Texas-based marketer for sending unsolicited faxes to consumers. Finally, as industrialized countries around the world move to implement tougher energy conservation standards, at least one U.S. regulatory agency will act, it seems, only under court order to do so. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) lost a federal suit brought by 2007 attorney generals in 15 states for its failure to set new energy efficiency standards for many home appliances (the agency will now be required to set new standards, which could reduce carbon emissions by more than 100 metric tons a year). Here then are more details on the significant regulatory compliance events in the year 2007 as seen through the pages of Conformity. Federal Communications Commission FCC Extends Disability Access Requirements to VOIP In its continuing efforts to ensure access by all consumers to telecommunications equipment and services, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) extended its current disability access requirements to providers of Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services, and to manufacturers of VOIP equipment. Under Section 225 of the Communications Act, telecommunications equipment manufacturers and service providers must ensure that equipment and services are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. As a result of a Report and Order issued by the Commission, those requirements now also apply to VOIP equipment manufacturers and service providers. In addition, VOIP service providers will also be required to contribute to the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund, and to offer 711 abbreviated dialing for access to relay services. The TRS Fund, 2008 AnnuAl guide Conformity 15

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Conformity 2008 Engineers' Reference Guide

Conformity Engineers' Reference Guide 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor 2007: The Year in Review Company Profiles EMC Requirements for ITE A List of EMC Directive Standards Automotive EMC Standards Standards for Medical Devices EMI Issues in Manufacturing Using Field Probes as EMI Diagnostic Tools Meeting DFS Testing Requirements Selecting an Independent Testing Laboratory Filters PCBs Enclosures Antennas Anechoic Chambers Gaskets Spectrum Analyzers Compliance Software Product Safety SAR Standards Expansion Continues Update on China's CCC Compliance Program Machinery Field Evaluation ESD An Annual Progress Report on ESD Standards An Update on IEC 61000-4-2 Automotive ESD Testing Handling Class O ESDS Devices Telecom Part 68 DSL Interoperability Testing RoHS An Update on RoHS Regulations EU Directives The EU's Physical Agents Directive Buyer's Guide Consultants and Services Product Spotlights Catalog Spotlights Product Directory Vendor Directory Advertisers Index

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