JRC helps countries and companies comply with RoHS
Reference materials developed by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) are set to help companies and Member States comply with the RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment) Directive. As the name suggests, the goal of the RoHS Directive is to protect both human health and the environment by restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. According to the 2003 directive, 'Member States shall ensure that, from 1 July 2006, new electrical and electronic equipment put onto the market does not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, poly-brominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).' Needless to say, these rules mean that electronics manufacturers need to be able to test components from their suppliers to be sure that the final product complies with the regulations. Member States also need to test products to ensure companies are adhering to the rules. Both companies and governments need to be sure that their laboratories can measure levels of these substances in a material to a high degree of accuracy, and this is where the reference materials come in. 'Reference materials are a vital tool for companies and law enforcement bodies,' said Dr Thomas Linsinger, a Project Manager in the Reference Materials Unit at the JRC's Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM). Earlier this year Dr Linsinger's team produced two certified reference materials consisting of plastic granules containing known amounts of a range of elements, including lead, mercury and cadmium. Laboratories can purchase these materials and run their own tests on them to see if they are able to detect the correct amounts of the elements involved. The other elements contained in the reference materials include arsenic, bromine, chlorine and sulphur, so that labs can use the same reference materials to run tests relating to other European legislation including the Packaging Directive and the End of Life Vehicles Directive. The IRMM has also produced a quality control material for the analysis of PBDEs and PBBs in polymers. Dr Linsinger points out that it is currently extremely difficult to determine precisely the levels of these substances in a material, and so for the moment the reference materials can only offer laboratories guidance as to the accuracy of their methods. Now the IRMM is busy producing certified reference materials for these substances, which will provide greater certainty in terms of results. They are scheduled for release in 2008. Meanwhile, demand for the new reference materials is high; in addition to Europe, California, Japan and China have similar legislation in place. The IRMM is working closely with other reference labs around the world, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US, to ensure that as many hazardous substances as possible are covered.