India's ROHS turns up the heat
India's version of ROHS appears to be as clear as mud.
Barbara Jorgensen, EBN Community Editor -- EDN, July 14, 2011
The EU’s (European
Union’s) version of the
ROHS (restriction-of-hazardous-substances) directive
seems to be approaching
clarity, but India’s version of
ROHS appears to be as clear
as mud. The EU has officially
adopted a revised ROHS, which
clarifies a number of issues pertaining
to the measure and bans
six substances from electronics
products sold in Europe.
Under the original version,
the scope of products
that had to comply with
ROHS left a lot of room
for interpretation. The
revision tightens those
loopholes. Additionally,
the EU revision specifies
that cables and
various attachments to
electrical and electronics
equipment must
also comply with the
law, which bans substances
such as lead,
mercury, and cadmium
from electronics products
for sale in the EU.India’s version, which is moving closer toward its May 2012 implementation, limits the use of 20 substances from electronics products for sale in India. Global distributor element14, which provides updates and analysis of global environmental legislation, has posted a summary of India’s ROHS on its Web site. According to element14, the proposals on the disposal of WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) do not say whether these substances are restricted or that manufacturers should attempt to avoid them; do not state whether the threshold values refer to the concentrations in the finished product, in homogeneous materials, or in something else; provide no exemptions or any mechanism for requesting exemptions; and lack clarity of limits.
Inconsistencies among global environmental laws are ongoing concerns in the electronics industry, which must greatly modify processes and materials to meet ROHS requirements. The ban of lead from solders in manufacturing has been particularly irksome because unleaded substitutes have worse performance than do leaded substances. The element14 proposal also notes the next set of challenges, including a requirement that medical equipment adhere to the ban, whereas the EU version currently does not. India’s ROHS also bans substances, including some flame retardants, that have no viable alternatives.
Similar to the EU legislation, India will require manufacturers and importers to supply only ROHS-compliant products and to provide written documentation supporting compliance. This struggle has been ongoing in the electronics supply chain because documenting compliance often requires the disclosure of information that component makers regard as proprietary.
There’s no question that electronics manufacturers will adhere to these measures. The industry has, with some difficulty, complied with the EU’s ROHS. In the past two years, China has passed its version of ROHS, and India now also has. The European Union is an important but relatively small market for electronics manufacturers. China and India, on the other hand, are the two largest markets for electronics products. Electronics manufacturers need to come up with new ways to build their products and keep users safe; otherwise, the race is on to develop new flame retardants.
This story was originally posted by EBN.
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