RoHS-International Ltd., a New Zealand-based consulting company, has released a technical discussion paper on the China RoHS Environmental Friendly Use Period (EFUP). The paper, now available for download, discusses the issue of whether the EFUP is based on just the six RoHS substances and elements or whether it is based on the product as a whole. In addressing this issue, the paper adds a technical interpretation to the English tr... (more) [Read more…]

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced the availability of its entire portfolio of small signal discrete plastic surface mount devices (SMD) in 100% lead-free packaging. In these devices, the tin-lead-plating will be replaced by pure matte tin (100% Sn) to meet the strong market trend towards environmentally friendly products. [Read more…]

The Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) has awarded contact manufacturer, Della Systems Inc., certification under IPC’s Certification for Lead Free Electronics Assembly Capability Program. The IPC certification is an audit of an electronics assembly facility – whether OEM or EMS – to determine if the facility is capable of producing product to meet the lead-free requirements of the RoHS directive. “Achievin... (more) [Read more…]

Greenpeace released a study last week pointing to environmental pollution in Asia and Mexico from electronic products manufacturing. The group points to pollution in groundwater, rivers and wells due to the manufacturing of printed circuit boards, semiconductor chips and component assemblies. The study, “Cutting Edge Contamination: A study of environmental pollution during the manufac... (more) [Read more…]

According to an article this week in Design News sister publication, Electronics Weekly, 99 percent of electronic products are 99 percent compliant. The assessment comes from Chris Smith, the director of RoHS enforcement at the UK’s National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML). In the small number of cases where the products were not in compliance, the agency was able to work out a solution. “We have been very close to prosecuting companies... (more) [Read more…]

The National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA) will hold a summit on environmental issues facing the electronics industry on March 28 at the Dallas InterContinental Hotel. The summit will look at China RoHS, California RoHS, and the European Union’s REACH. The NEDA Environmental Issues Summit will include presentations by experts on the directives facing the electronics industry. Presenters include Tom Valliere of Design Chain Asso... (more) [Read more…]

Norway’s national network, ELFNET, reports that RoHS has caused few major problems for Norway’s electronics industry as of September 2006. A survey of electronic manufacturing service (EMS) companies found that more than 50 percent of the country’s electronics manufacturers have products outside the scope of RoHS, but those that need to comply have done so without significant hitches. The EMS providers told ELFNET that finding compliant components was the most diffic... (more) [Read more…]

RoHS-International has released a China RoHS Declaration Table Template which is available for download at $40 plus $10 per line entry. The template – created in MS Word – was designed to make declaration easier for English-speaking companies. The template contains 26 of the most used assembly names in both English and Chinese. Assembly names include printed circuit assemblies, main printed circuit assembly, display printed circuit assembly, power supply unit, cables and m... (more) [Read more…]

Is your business full with intellegent green strategy or is it full of green(hog)wash? According to Pam Gordon, president of Technology Forecasters Inc., a research and consultng company in Alameda, Calif., many companies are more interested in putting out press releases that tout their green initiatives rather than actually rolling up their sleaves and creating sustainable green strategies. [Read more…]

Ageus Solutions has issued a call for papers for the International Symposium on Environmental Standards for Electronics 2007 (ISESE’07) which will be held October 10 and 11 in Ottawa, Ontario. The conference will address the concerns of electronics manufacturers regarding global environmental legislation such as China RoHS, EU’s WEEE and RoHS, Japan Green, Korea RoHS, EuP, REACH, and battery and packaging directives. The organizing committee is seeing abstracts to be consi... (more) [Read more…]

Elfnet (The European Lead-Free Soldering Network) has produced a roadmap on how key factors such as lead-free soldering, sustainability and miniaturization are impacting the interconnection supply chain, materials and processes. The report is titled, “The Future of European Electronics Interconnection,” and it is available for download at no cost. The document presents 50 high-... (more) [Read more…]

IPC will present the International Conference on Lead Free Materials and Surface Finishes on May 8 and 9 in San Jose, Calif. The conference is intended to help attendees address the materials and finish issues facing the electronics industry. Presenters will include representatives from companies that have implemented lead-free technology and have overcome the challenges involved in shifting to lead-free solder and finish surfaces. The IPC conference w... (more) [Read more…]

According to a recent commentary in the Lead Free Magazine by Trevor Galbraith, editor-in-chief of Global SMT& Packaging Magazine, EMS companies and solder suppliers say “the number of their customers who are actually implementing lead-free is, at best, around 30 to 35 percent.” In the Lead-Free Magazine guest commentary, Galbraith says ... (more) [Read more…]

The U.S. aerospace industry group, The Government Electronics Industries Association (GEIA), is planning to release guidelines on performance and qualification testing for lead-free solder during the first quarter of 2008. According to an item in ELFNET, the GEIA report, “Guidance Regarding the Performance and Qualification Testing of Aerospace and Hig... (more) [Read more…]

By now, we should all be familiar with the European Union's RoHS Directive (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment). [Read more…]

The Orela™ 4555 hybrid module enables manufacturers to build hearing aids using environmentally friendly components from AMI Semiconductor Pocatello, Idaho - April 2, 2007 -- AMI Semiconductor (NASDAQ: AMIS), a designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art integrated mixed-signal and... [Read more…]

Synapsis Technology Inc. of Spring House, Pa. has released environmental compliance software to help companies meet the requirements of China RoHS. The software is designed to help companies comply with Phase One of China RoHS while preparing them for Phase Two. The software, called the EMARS China RoHS module, was produced to help users: Generate an ac... (more) [Read more…]

According to an article in Design News sister publication Electronics Weekly, adjustments to comply with RoHS is causing problems with some components. Certain types of devices housed in plastic packages were originally designed for safe exposure to temperatures that 30 to 40 degrees (C) lower than the 260 degrees (C) considered to be the benchmark for lead-free processes. ... (more) [Read more…]

Most companies have spent many years collecting data to meet the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliance requirements. [Read more…]

There is no hotter environmental compliance topic in the electronics industry than RoHS enforcement. Is it really being enforced? Why aren't we hearing anything about it? We spent all of that money and effort, did it really matter? Yes, it does matter. [Read more…]

A recent article in Circuits Assembly notes that the European Commission (EC) of the European Union will review measures in the RoHS directive. The goal is to take into account scientific evidence. The deadline for comments is May 22. In the announcement, the EC noted that Article 6 of the RoHS directive calls for a review of the directive’s measures, taking into account, as necessary, new scientific evidence, in partic... (more) [Read more…]

On April 2, Korea’s National Assembly passed the “Act Concerning the Resource Recycling of Electrical/Electronic Products and Automobiles.” According to Michael Kirschner, president of Design Chain Associates, “This wide-ranging regulation has elements of the European Union’s RoHS, WEE and ELV (End of Life Vehicles) directives but is also uniquely Korean.” The regulation goes into force on January 1, 2008. Kirschner went on to explain that like EU R... (more) [Read more…]

The role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained respect and support from top leaders at a number of major corporations. Last week, AMR Research reported on the presentations delivered at the Stanford Conference on Social and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains. In attendance were senior operations executives from CSR leaders such as Cisco, HP and Microsoft. Presenters highlighted these recent in... (more) [Read more…]

Ageus Solutions, which offers compliance support for environmental directives, announced it is prepared to help companies meet the requirements of The Act for Resources Recycling of Electrical/Electronic Products and Automobiles, commonly known as Korea RoHS. Ageus will offer comprehensive consulting, education, content, documentation and implementation services related to the directive. Korea RoHS combines the concepts of European Union (E... (more) [Read more…]

There are plenty of new environment-focused bills in California's legislature this session. Here is an outline of a few of them and some of our opinions on their potential impact on the electronics industry. AB 48: Assembly Member Saldana. Hazardous waste: electronic devices. [Read more…]