...Intertek Group plc quality and safety service provider added Ageus Solutions to its restricted substances consulting services group. Ageus boasts global environmental compliance consulting, technology services, and product stewardship to the electronics and related industries. Financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed.... more...

...The Houston-based arm of a U.K. product compliance services company has bought Ottawa's Ageus Solutions. Intertek Group has offered an initial cash consideration of 900,000 pounds or the equivalent of C$1.75 million for Ageus, which provides environmental compliance and hazardous materials consulting services for the North American electronics and manufacturing industry.... more...

...The plastics industry has voiced fears that recycling of the material across the UK and Europe could come to a standstill next year, if new laws regulating chemicals are fully implemented. Mark Burstall, chairman of the British Plastics Federation's (BPF) recycling council, has expressed his concerns over sections of the REACH legislation and told letsrecycle.com the council has begun a crusade to change them. He hopes there is a possibility that an exemption under the REACH legislation may help to save the day.... more...

...Europe's comprehensive new program to monitor and restrict chemicals is causing suppliers and chip vendors alike to scramble to meet the program's early-stage requirements, according to speakers at an International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI, Austin, Texas) workshop held Monday. The European Union's Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) program, signed into law June 1, 2007, has cost implications that could make manufacturing in Europe overly expensive, said Dawn Speranza, an Intel Corp. environmental, health and safety (ESH) engineer.... more...

...With the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive in place, the demand for information and solutions is increasing dramatically. To give the electronics industry answers to the challenges of implementing lead-free processes, IPC and JEDEC are holding an international lead-free conference, December 3-5, 2007 in Austin, Texas. Industry experts will present the most current findings on a number of topics during the December 3 and 5 educational course program, including optimizing lead-free SMT process assembly, interconnect failures and design for reliability for plated-through holes and vias, lead-free reliability for harsh electronic environments, and more.... more...

...Most frequently asked 30 questions on the Korean RoHS/WEEE/ELV were answered by Eco-Frontier, a leading Korean environmental consultancy.... more...

...Ambiguity surrounding what is acceptable RoHS testing technology and a lack of visible enforcement of RoHS regulation by the authorities are holding back the objectives of RoHS policy in Europe, according to an analysis equipment supplier.... more...

...California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill A.B. 48, sending it back to the California legislature saying it "purports to impose restrictions similar to those already in place in the European Union, but the deviations it takes from the European Union approach are fatally flawed."... more...

...The environmental group Greenpeace has released an analysis of the new Apple iPhone, in which it claims the product contains a range of potentially dangerous chemicals. In fact, all of the substances reported by Greenpeace are approved for use, and provide critical performance and safety functions in a wide range of electronic products.... more...

...The European Union is threatening legal action against member states which have yet to incorporate rules on electronic waste into their own national laws. Official letters have been sent to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania warning the countries that they must ratify the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive into national law.... more...

...Aimed at simplifying companies' compliance with the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, NSAI, which provides system and product certification services to a variety of international standards organizations, today announced the launch of its RoHS Compliance Assurance System (CAS) Certificate Program.... more...

...Electronics Weekly puts its questions to an industry figure: Jenni Rosser, a cleaner design specialist with Envirowise. . . What is meant by the term 'cleaner design'? . . . Do designers need to be aware of environmental issues? . . . Does RoHS and WEEE legislation make a clean design approach more important?... more...

...The European Union (EU)'s new chemical regulation will severely impact the Chinese chemical industry, suggested Yan Bangsong, deputy chairman of China Chamber of Commerce of Metals Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC), according to the Shanghai Securities News. The new regulations, known as REACH, or Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, were passed by the European Parliament and the Council of EU on December 18, 2006.... more...

...In this specially commissioned review for Powder Injection Moulding International, Peter Brewin, former Technical Director of the European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) reports on REACH, a new European Union law affecting European manufacturers and importers of chemical substances. REACH came into force on 1st June 2007 and includes metals, alloys and other raw materials. The new law therefore affects the all PIM industries - metal injection moulding, ceramic injection moulding and carbide injection moulding.... more...

...The electronics industry has seen its first prosecution for noncompliance with the RoHS directive. At the end of September, a U.K. company whose name was not disclosed was accused of marketing lead-containing products that violated the RoHS restrictions on lead, said Chris Smith, head of the RoHS team at the U.K.'s National Weights and Measures Laboratory, which is in charge of compliance testing.... more...

...In a report released to the public, Green Peace had claimed Apple’s iPhone was toxic and went against the environmental standards they had preached so long ago via an open letter. With that, Green Peace has taken the liberty of suing Apple for you guessed it: not making the iPhone green enough.... more...

...Berlin -- The European Union is reviewing its Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive and is expected to recommend tweaks that would make RoHS clearer, simpler and perhaps a bit broader. Companies selling electronics products into EU markets should be aware of the possible modifications on the table. The review comes as the industry witnesses the first prosecution of an electronics company for noncompliance with the RoHS directive now in force.... more...

...The electronics industry has seen its first prosecution for noncompliance with the RoHS directive. At the end of September, a U.K. company whose name was not disclosed was accused of marketing lead-containing products that violated the RoHS restrictions on lead, said Chris Smith, head of the RoHS team at the U.K.'s National Weights and Measures Laboratory, which is in charge of compliance testing.... more...

...Five priority bills passed by both houses of the legislature are now hanging in the balance depending on whether Governor Schwarzenegger signs or vetoes them. Over the next few hours and days, we need your help to persuade the governor to sign them... more...

...The issue of emerging e-waste is getting critical by the day. Imports of hazardous waste are rapidly coming into India and other Asian countries from the US and other industrialized nations. Moreover, there is no comprehensive/definitive guideline for e-waste management in these countries.... more...

...They have ruined missiles, silenced communications satellites and forced nuclear power plants to shut down. Pacemakers, consumer gadgets and even a critical part of a space shuttle have fallen victim. The culprits? Tiny splinters - whiskers, they are called - that sprout without warning from tin solder and finishes deep inside electronics.... more...

...California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday vetoed a bill that proposed to significantly expand the RoHS statutes mandated by the California Waste Recycling Act. In returning the bill, AB 48, to the legislature, Gov. Schwarzenegger wrote, "Unfortunately, the approach taken in this bill is largely unworkable and instead of the benefits it seeks to accomplish, could ultimately result in unintended and potentially more harmful consequences."... more...

...Ageus Solutions is pleased to convene a special session on the enforcement of legislation related to hazardous chemical restrictions for electronics at the upcoming International Symposium on Environmental Standards for Electronics 2007 (ISESE'07- www.isese07.com). ISESE'07, being held in Ottawa on October 10th and 11th, will also feature presentations on REACH, RoHS- and WEEE-type legislation from North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific addressing the issues associated with implementation and application of existing and emerging environmental regulations.... more...

...Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of Avnet, Inc., has been awarded the 2007 Environmental Education/Communication Award of Merit for its leadership in educating the electronics industry on the impact of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) laws. The award was presented to Avnet during Valley Forward’s annual Environmental Excellence Awards gala on Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona.... more...

...Dage Precision Industries is pleased to announce that David Bernard, product manager x-ray systems, will participate in the Process Advice and Defect Clinic at the upcoming SMTA International conference and exhibition to be held in Orlando, Florida from October 9-11, 2007.... more...

...NDS Surgical Imaging (NDS), a leading manufacturer of medical electronics equipment for digital Operating Rooms and Surgical Suites, has announced that its standard products are now RoHS-compliant. RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) is a European Union directive prohibiting products that contain any of six specific substances. For electronics, lead-free construction is the most prominent requirement of the RoHS directive.... more...

...There have always been tradeoffs when devising an effective internal numbering system for electronic parts; hazardous substance restrictions make things even more difficult. Some clients have reached wits' end over part numbering challenges created by the European Union's Restrictions of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) Directive and similar regulations.... more...

...The industry’s conversion from leaded (eutectic) to lead-free has been slow. The industry perception prior to July 2006 was a virtual overnight switch to lead-free. However, today many OEMs still have a "don't care, wait and see attitude" since they're either RoHS-exempt at this time or don’t sell into Europe. Others are at the decision-making stage. They're wondering how far they can stretch leaded products before yielding to extra lead-free dollar outlays. Most major chipmakers and component manufacturers have complied with RoHS, although in some cases proper labeling is still missing.... more...

...SIMS Recycling Solutions, a division of the metals recycling SIMS Group, is ready to roll out its proprietary plastics separation technology for WEEE, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The company says it will run the technology across its eight European WEEE sites. According to Graham Davy, UK managing director of Sims Recycling Solutions, the process has undergone a trial at a pilot facility in Germany.... more...

...They've ruined missiles, silenced communications satellites and forced nuclear power plants to shut down. Pacemakers, consumer gadgets and even a critical part of a space shuttle have fallen victim. The culprits? Tiny splinters _ whiskers, they're called _ that sprout without warning from tin solder and finishes deep inside electronics. By some estimates, the resulting short-circuits have leveled as much as $10 billion in damage since they were first noticed in the 1940s.... more...