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Electronics without Brominated Flame Retardants or PVC Arriving on Market
May 12, 2010 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
GOTEBORG, Sweden — This market overview from ChemSec – the International Chemical Secretariat shows that legislative and industry initiatives for less hazardous electronics are bringing about technically and economically feasible replacements for brominated flame retardants (BFR) and PVC in a wide range of electronic products. Numerous electronic products without brominated flame retardants and PVC are already on the market, with more on company’s planning timelines.
The objective of ChemSec’s Electronics Without Brominated Flame Retardants and PVC - a Market Overview is to demonstrate how large parts of the electronics industry have moved away from BFRs and PVC. It lists products on the market today free from BFR and PVC, as well as companies that have adopted strategies and policies to replace these by 2014. In the EU RoHS Directive, electronic and electrical products are divided into 10 categories. This market overview takes a closer look at 6 of these 10 categories. Rather than aiming at a full overview of all the different products and producers in the market today, the Overview aims to give an insight into how far it is technically feasible to produce electronic products without brominated flame retardants and PVC in each of these 6 categories. The Market Overview is based on a web-based research of official corporate information from a wide range of electronics companies, as stated on websites, in annual reports, press releases and product sheets.
As growing global access to technology, increased integration of electronics into other products, and nonstop technical performance converge, electronic products such as mobile phones, computers and televisions are upgraded more frequently than ever. This rapid turn-over of electronic products make electronic waste the fastest growing waste stream in the world. In this waste-phase, chemicals used in electronics manufacturing are unintentionally released into the environment. BFRs tend to be particularly likely to bio-accumulate and be persistent. This means they stay in the environment for a long time and accumulate in animals and humans. Many brominated flame retardants are also toxic. Furthermore both brominated flame retardants and PVC can potentially transform into dioxins and furans, which cause severe health problems.
A number of initiatives, by regulators as well as industry, have been taken to produce electronics with less hazardous chemical content. The European Union RoHS has become a de facto global standard and has greatly improved chemicals management in the electronics sector. Today, many companies have moved beyond RoHS and have phased out, or are in the process of phasing out, other hazardous substances and materials such as brominated flame retardants and PVC. This report outlines initiatives for fully BFR/PVC-free and almost-free products now and in the future.
Read the full report at http://www.chemsec.org/images/stories/publications/ChemSec_publications/Electronics_Without_Brominated_Flame_Retardants_and_PVC-a_Market_Overview.pdf
Contact ChemSec at info@chemsec.org or www.chemsec.org
Editor's Note:IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries refutes some of the statements in ChemSec's report.
In a statement, the electronics industry association said "ChemSec’s report, which claims that industry is making wholesale movements away from brominated flame retardants (BFRs), contains misleading statements about the environmental and health concerns associated with BFRs. While some BFRs, such as Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBBs), have been identified as toxic and have been withdrawn from the market, other BFRs, such as Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA), have been safely used in electronic products for decades. The World Health Organization and the European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) conducted separate, comprehensive scientific assessments of TBBPA and both found TBBPA to be safe for human health and the environment...The report fails to identify the alternative flame retardants used and whether they are better for human health and the environment than the BFRs they are intended to replace. We reject the report's implication that the sheer ability to remove BFRs from a specific product proves that the action is beneficial... The ability of one electronics company to remove BFRs from a product does not mean that every electronics company is capable of removing BFRs. While some major consumer products OEMs have made the commitment to remove BFRs and PVC from certain products, companies have explicitly stated that the removal of all BFRs and PVC is contingent upon viable alternatives that do not compromise the functionality, safety, and reliability of their products." For more information on IPC's stance, visit www.ipc.org or contact Fern Abrahms, IPC director of environmental policy, at FernAbrams@ipc.org or (703) 522-0225.
Read More on the Environment and Electronics: Our Relationship with the Environment SMT Editorial Advisory Board member Laura J. Turbini, Ph.D., Research in Motion, explores the path of human impact on the environment, and the environmental legislation issues it has created for the electronics production industry. Revised RoHS Directive, and an Erroneous Name in RoHS 2 The European Commission (EC) proposes several changes to its RoHS Directive. Medical devices and other exempted end products will be affected, product labeling will change, and the character of the RoHS legislation will be reinvented. However, calling this revision "RoHS2" is a misstep, says Lev Shapiro, Component Master, based on the informal but generally accepted RoHS5/6 terminology. Updated Materials Declaration Standard IPC-1752A
Updated May 14, 2010
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