Proposed RoHS Revisions Released Dec 10, 2008

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The European Union (EU) Commission has released the review of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive without any additional banned substances. IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries, said that the Commission does not intend to add Tetrabromobisphenol (a) (TBBPA) as an additional substance to be monitored or restricted under RoHS.

"TBBPA was found to be safe for humans and the environment by a comprehensive Risk Assessment conducted by the European Union and therefore is not expected to be restricted under the EU Restriction, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) regulation," explained Lee Wilmot, director of EHS at TTM Technologies, Inc. and chair of the IPC EHS Steering Committee. "We are gratified that the Commission has decided to base their proposal on scientific findings and to more closely align the RoHS Directive and REACH regulation."

IPC added that the proposal improves the alignment of the RoHS Directive with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. "The REACH and RoHS regulations affect the entire global supply chain and have significant implications for the success and survival of our industry,” said Dan Feinberg, owner of Fein-Line Associates and chairman of IPC government relations committee. "IPC members will continue to urge that further substance restrictions be addressed under the REACH regulation in order to avoid duplicative and overlapping regulations."

For more information regarding the proposed RoHS revisions, visit www.ipc.org/RoHSrevisions

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