-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueBox Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
Boost Your Sales
Every part of your business can be evaluated as a process, including your sales funnel. Optimizing your selling process requires a coordinated effort between marketing and sales. In this issue, industry experts in marketing and sales offer their best advice on how to boost your sales efforts.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Green Giant Green China
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
By Craig Hunter, AVX Corp.
China has gone green. The giant has seen massive industrial growth, which also has occurred in industrially developed geographies, and has polluted their air, water, and soil along the way, all while consuming vast amounts of natural resources, mostly coal. In response, they are implementing environmental legislation in an attempt to reduce the effects of pollution caused by rapid industrial development. A 1998 World Health Organization (WHO) report on air quality in 272 cities concluded that seven of the world's 10 most polluted cities were in China. Enter China's RoHS environmental initiative.
China's RoHS: An OverviewRoHS regulations are evolving pieces of legislation, and China's Administration of the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products (or China RoHS) is no different. China has separated its RoHS plan into two phases. The regulations mirror the European Union's (EU's) RoHS initiative, but are more in-depth concerning the scope of prohibited materials, exemptions, affected products, and packaging requirements. It appears that China's RoHS is the most detailed and understandable legislation, although there are still several sections that are ambiguous, undefined, and left up to interpretation.
Phase IThe March 1, 2007, mandatory compliance date for China RoHS is just the foundation of the legislation. The primary restrictions, as with all RoHS regulations that have come before it, prohibit the big six materials: mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, PBB, and PBDE. The China RoHS document adds the phrase "other toxic and harmful substances" to the big six restricted materials, but does not offer any specific definition to what those substances may be or contain.
The product scope of China's RoHS regulation includes more types of products than the EU's. While the EU's scope is broad, China's RoHS specifically defines electronic information products (some 1,800) to encompass manufacturing equipment, electronic test equipment, automotive electronics, medical devices and products, radar systems, semiconductor devices and ICs, batteries, sensors, optical fiber, and other electronic components and the materials that comprise them. Household appliances, toys, dispensers, and tools are not directly included, yet their components are included in the regulations.
China RoHS requires manufacturers to mark products to identify what toxic materials, if any, are contained in the component. If the component does include toxic materials, the package must indicate the number of years before the package will break down and toxic substances are exposed to the environment. Manufacturers are held accountable to calculate this period of time and have not received any formal direction on how to obtain a figure. The package itself must not contain hazardous materials, and must also include relevant recycling symbols.
Phase IIThis phase is a little more complicated and undefined. China RoHS will continue to develop and become more specific, particularly when Phase II of the program is instituted. The Chinese government has not yet released its catalog of products for Phase II. This will be an extension of what was released in Phase I, and the Chinese government reserves the right to add products to the restricted list as it sees fit. China will also require all products to be pre-market tested by an approved Chinese laboratory before awarding certification of compliance.
Additional RegulationsChina's National Development Reform Commission (NRDC) also is currently drafting a recycling initiative with similarities to the EU's WEEE. This program has an impressive target goal of reducing energy consumption by 20% nationwide by the year 2010. The NRDC will oversee the energy reduction project and will adopt energy-efficient policies throughout provinces and industrial sectors.
One of the NDRC's first steps was the official launch of the "Top 1,000 Program," which targets energy-efficient improvements in the 1,000 largest enterprises that consume one-third of all China's primary energy.
China RoHS: What It Means to the IndustrySo what does China RoHS mean to the industry? Manufacturers will have to jump through a few more hoops to become China RoHS-compliant, although if they are already EU RoHS compliant, they are generally in good shape. Some of these hoops are still not defined, as in the case of Phase II, and some need to be clarified, as in the case of any exemptions.
ConclusionChina has taken a big step in its environmental policy. It is the first Asian country outside of Japan to introduce environmental regulations of this magnitude, and potentially Taiwan, South Korea, and others may develop or adopt similar legislation soon. With each country or region implementing similar legislation, or in some cases, drastically different legislation, are manufacturers going to be required to supply each country with a different product? That could potentially be the direction we are heading.
All RoHS regulations seem to have the common goal of restricting the use of hazardous and toxic substances and creating a greener planet. With a common objective, is it too outlandish to think the industry could adopt a single, universal RoHS plan? Perhaps the idea is too far-fetched, as politics would certainly be a deterring factor. It is obvious that more difficult rules mean that there is potential, when advantageous, to reduce imports by enforcing these regulations. Some governments may find this option appealing.
For economic reasons, manufacturers are likely to try and make their standard products adhere to the most difficult levels of compliance. On the other hand, it would be much simpler, in practice, if OEMs, component manufacturers, and regulating agencies adopted a single plan. This would mean there are less hoops for manufacturers to jump through with the same overall green result. SMT
Craig Hunter is an SMT Editorial Advisory Board member and strategic marketing manager of AVX Corp., in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Contact him at (843) 946-0601; e-mail: hunterc@avxus.com.