How the European industry views RoHS regulations
The EU's six Restrictions of Hazardous Substances directives (RoHS) have been in effect for nine months since July 1, 2006. However, what is the current progress of RoHS implementation? Which companies are encountering difficulties in implementation and how are they coping? Regarding these questions, the European Commission has adopted a reserved attitude towards the implementation status over the past few months. A Commission spokesperson stated, "In general, because many stakeholders come from different sectors and regions, many hope that the implementation of the RoHS directives will be smoother and easier to comply with; however, they will eventually understand the importance of the changed requirements and try to cooperate, and a new regulation will be widely accepted and recognized." "An important signal is that many of our major trading partners are already adopting regulations like RoHS. Therefore, in the upcoming inspections, we will provide more insights into the perspectives of business stakeholders and eliminate any unnecessary administrative burdens or related costs." However, it is worth discussing that European companies are not as relaxed in implementing RoHS as the European Commission might have hoped.
Markus Terho, Nokia's Environmental Affairs Manager, stated, "Supporting the European Commission's changes to rules and regulations is a heavy burden, and one that exceeds your expectations. Technological innovation continues to advance, but the burden of constantly changing regulations remains. We wish these requirements could be temporarily suspended, giving us a year to implement them, but instead, these changes always occur frequently and without warning."
Noting the significant challenges on a global scale, Terho stated, "Since our products are manufactured and used globally, we have felt that the regulations issued by the EU should be implemented globally. Failure to do so could expose humans to harmful substances." "In the material."
Terho also pointed out the problem Nokia faced regarding the returns on its RoHS investment activities: "Cost factors are difficult to measure. We employ tens of thousands of engineers to carry out rapid technological innovation, and they spend a lot of time implementing changes, but we have never calculated the costs of these excess efforts."
One thing Terho is grateful for is the EU RoHS exclusion program. The formulation of exclusion programs has a huge impact on the electronics industry supply chain. Even when Nokia itself did not make any requirements for exclusion programs, they had already used some recognized exclusion programs. "You can't manufacture an integrated circuit without using lead. Each component contains approximately 2 to 20 different raw materials. You have to decide the content of lead, cadmium, chromium, and other components used in the instrument. In a mobile phone, there are about 50 to 350 electronic components. So we're talking about thousands of electronic components, and it's difficult to determine their content unless all of them are tested. But we know that many small and medium-sized enterprises do not comply with regulatory requirements when manufacturing products, but the investigating authorities cannot test all of them." The French semiconductor company Freescale faces a similar situation but has a different perspective.
Griffin Teggeman, Manager of Environmental Priority Product Planning at Freescale, pointed out, "We have been preparing for the EU RoHS Directive for many years. The EU has a transparent procedure to ensure that companies understand the regulations of the EU Directive." He added, "This preparation work is a major global achievement for Freescale's technology development, product certification, and substance content verification. Since the implementation of the EU RoHS Directive in July 2006, RoHS-related activities in Europe have become quiet, as most of the focus has shifted to Asia (China RoHS). Regarding the problematic parts, Freescale raised some unexpected controversies concerning suppliers and within the company. "Before ceasing production of lead-containing products, we provide consumers with at least a year's notice to indicate legality. We are constantly asked whether the RoHS Directive is a costly burden or worthwhile. Unfortunately, the answer is both." The initial technical requirements are costly, such as product certification, compliance process development, and staffing; the ongoing information collection, verification, and transmission processes will place a heavy burden on companies, requiring them to use resources to develop other new products or solve new problems. However, if the RoHS Directive effectively reduces harmful substances in the environment, then these costs are worthwhile. — This translation is for reference only. In case of any questions, please refer to the original text on the website. — Source: Electronicsweekly.com
