The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host a workshop in October to assist U.S. manufacturers and their supply chain in meeting new environmental regulations that restrict the use of hazardous substances in electronics and a wide range of consumer products.
Both the European Union and China have plans to implement restrictions of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. The EU Directive is titled Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) and becomes effective July 2006. In China, the regulations are intended to provide the same restrictions and are slated to be effective even earlier, viz. January 2006. Both sets of regulations are commonly referred to by the acronym RoHS. They will restrict lead (widely used in solder), mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium (used to inhibit corrosion), and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants (in plastics and epoxy).
The goals of the NIST workshop are to assess the measurement and standards needs of industry as they respond to the restrictions, and to collaboratively produce a plan that addresses international standards issues and helps U.S. manufacturers to access the global market.
The meeting will be designed to give industry representatives the opportunity to work with NIST to create a plan of action to address RoHS and other pending regulations. Sessions will include invited presentations followed by panel discussions. The participants will include manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as those providing analytical services. Discussions will cover both test methods and declarations of composition. NIST is participating in the work of IEC TC111 and ASTM F40 and is aware of the progress being made on standards test methods. NIST is also working with IPC and iNEMI on standards for materials declaration. NIST should be able to offer support in the implementation of such documentary standards. Often an artifact chemical standard, a Certified Reference Material, is required for method validation and quality control of the procedures described in a standard. There is also the issue of uncertainty in measurements and its implications for acceptance of results by regulators. It is in these areas where NIST could contribute. The purpose of this workshop is to explore how that might be done.
The Restricted Substances in Materials: Testing and Reporting Procedures Workshop will be held at the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD, from October 5 to 7, 2005.
Conference Program [program] 
Conference Summary Report [report]
U.S. - China Roundtable Workshop Announcement
Overview of ASTM Committee F40 and theCommittee's Standards Activities as of June 2006
Corporate Roster of ASTM F40 Members as of June 2006
Return
to CSTL Home
A transcript of the proceedings will be available from this website at a later date.