ASTM Int'l Forms Declarable Substances in Materials Committee
April 18, 2005
| |
| IHS Parts Solutions |
| Source parts, manage obsolescence, comply with regulations and speed time-to-market. For more information and a price quote, please complete the form below. |
|
ASTM International formed a new committee to develop standards for the evaluation of materials and products targeted by restriction of certain hazardous substances regulations. Committee F40 on Declarable Substances in Materials will address issues that impact large and small businesses around the world as they face regulatory compliance.
Various countries have legislated restrictions on certain hazardous materials used in many industries. One such requirement is European Union (EU) Directive 2002/95/EC on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS). Under the directive, by July 2006, all manufacturers of electronic and electrical equipment sold in Europe must comply with mandates governing the use of six hazardous substances: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers.
The EU RoHS directive covers the following products/sectors:
- Household appliances
- IT and telecommunications equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting
- Electrical and electronic tools (except large-scale stationary industrial tools)
- Toys, leisure and sports equipment
- Automatic dispensers.
"RoHS compliance issues are not exclusive to the electronics industry," said Tim McGrady of IMR Test Labs, chairman of ASTM Committee F40 on Declarable Substances in Materials. "The true scope of RoHS is global in nature and impacts nearly every material used to manufacture non-food goods. Since industry uses standards to communicate through contracts, those standards must be in place in advance of the effective date of regulations, or chaos and significant unnecessary costs may ensue."
McGrady cited the United Kingdom's Department of Trade and Industry estimate that the average additional costs for just the U.K. due to RoHS would total 2.2 billion euro (1.5 billion pounds or $2.8 billion USD) over 10 years. The costs, as always, will be passed along to the consumer.
Any company, regardless of domicile, that will be affected by the regulation of materials may be exposed to high compliance costs and liability. Any company that is performing conformity assessment or quality assurance involving chemical analysis of materials to ensure compliance with laws, codes or regulations should have a say about the content of standard test methods, said ASTM International.
Beginning the Standardization Process
In addition to promulgating new standards, ASTM Committee F40 on Declarable Substances in Materials will research the presence and potential relevance of existing laws, codes, regulations and standards. F40 will also act as a liaison among various other global groups interested in substance regulation standardization.
F40 subcommittees will cover test methods, management practices and guides, monitoring of legislation and regulation, existing document research/liaison, and terminology.
For more information, contact Pat A. Picariello, ASTM director of developmental operations, at (610) 832-9720, ppicarie@astm.org, or visit the ASTM Committee F40 on Declarable Substances in Materials web site.
Source: ASTM International.