Product category:
Compliance Engineering
News Release from: SGS
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 22 January 2007
Consumer bodies take up RoHS baton
The presence of hazardous substances in E and E products is becoming more and more of an issue.
The presence of hazardous substances in E and E products is becoming more and more of an issue Products that used to be tested for function, cost/performance ratio and safety norms are now also tested for harmful chemical substances
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 16 Apr 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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This is the result of more severe legislation that requires products to be free of substances such as heavy metals, flame retardants (PBB/PBDE), plasticisers or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The restriction of certain heavy metals and flame retardants has already been included in the RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC) and in similar directives in other areas (such as China, Japan and California).
PAHs were first brought into the discussion after laboratory analyses carried out by the prestigious German foundation for the testing of consumer products, Stiftung Warentest (StiWa), well known to 96% of all Germans.
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One third of German consumers rely on test results published by StiWa when they buy products.
StiWa was founded in 1964 and since then has tested and criticised more than 70,000 products.
The tests are conducted according to scientific methods by independent laboratories and their results are issued in a monthly magazine.
The foundations main priority is neutrality, as it is financed by the German Government and is not allowed to publish advertisements.
Recently StiWa broadened the scope of its tests for consumer products and discovered almost 0.2% PAHs in the cable duct of an angle grinder.
The most important PAH substance is benzo[a]pyrene, used as a primary substance in analyses and evaluations and classified as carcinogenic.
The angle grinder mentioned also contained naphthalene, a substance that may cause skin irritation.
As a result StiWa advised against buying this item even if its mechanical features passed all tests successfully and the retailer therefore withdrew the affected products from the market.
Having found several other contaminated products StiWa has included PAHs and phthalates in its standard scope of testing for consumer products.
Any products found to have elevated amounts of hazardous substances are downgraded in the StiWa ranking, with effects on the success of the respective products on the German market.
The problem has also been addressed by the major retailers, who now require their suppliers to state the absence of hazardous substances in their products, because of the health risk they pose and because of the specific "plastic odour" of these substances which might deter consumers from buying the affected products.
With 24 accredited RoHS labs worldwide and 1000 specialists working in this field SGS is a well known service provider and offers tests for PAHs, phthalates, nonylphenol, PCB, cadmium and the entire range of substances included in the RoHS Directive. Request free introductory details about products from SGS ...
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