What is Green?
Everybody is talking about "green" these days. People are building "green houses", companies are going "green". Some regions of the world not only encourage, but require "green products" to be sold. What does "green" mean and how does it affect the products you purchase or the products your company provides to its customers? When it comes to the products you purchase or that your company produces and sells to your customers, the real issue is what type and what quantity of hazardous substances are included. Customer demand for hazardous-substance-free (HSF) products is changing the global market. Numerous international regulations now exist that restrict the types and amounts of hazardous substances that can be contained in a product, with severe financial and legal penalties involved for any violation of these regulations. This is providing significant incentive for a majority of companies to seriously evaluate their liability concerning hazardous substances and to begin implementing policies and practices that will reduce or eliminate any potential current or future liability.
WEEE and ROHS
The two most recognized regulations today concerning control and elimination of hazardous substance are WEEE and ROHS. WEEE focuses on the waste of electrical and electronic equipment and ROHS on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances for electrical and electronic products. The easiest way to think about the two regulations is ROHS is concerned with what substances go into the product and WEEE is concerned about what substances are in the product once it's discarded.
As of this writing, the following list describes the products that are required by ROHS to be free of hazardous substances:
Categories of Products Covered by RoHS
- Large household appliances
- Small household appliances
- IT and telecommunications equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools)
- Toys, leisure and sports equipment
- Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)*
- Monitoring and control instruments*
- Automatic dispensers
*- Currently exempt.
Commonly Used Hazardous Substances
When discussing hazardous substances, there are 6 most commonly used substances that are included. The 6 most commonly used hazardous substances are lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBB and PBDE. These substances can be found in products one would expect, such as appliances, electrical & electronic components, power tools, entertainment devices, etc., but also in products one might not expect, such as electrical/electronic toys; musical birthday cards; ink pens, shoes, and earrings containing lights; and paints used for just about anything, just to name a few. Figure 1-2 (below) provides a summary of where the 6 most commonly used hazardous substances may be included:
The figure below summarizes the quantity of hazardous substances presently allowed to be contained in products:
Driving Force Behind HSF
These regulations, along with a variety of other international and national directives and regulations, have been the driving force behind the Hazardous Substance Free (HSF) Mark™. As companies address the issues involved concerning hazardous substances and implement the policies and practices to reduce or eliminate them from the products they produce, they are looking for a method to readily communicate to their current and prospective customers that the products being produced have been certified as being manufactured in a controlled environment that is free of hazardous substances. The HSF website provides not only a central repository for learning about HSF issues, current HSF news and activities, HSF certified companies and partners, and also provides an HSF Mark that companies use to identify that products were manufactured in a Hazardous Substance Process Management (HSPM) certified process, providing customer confidence when making purchasing decisions.
Hazardous Substance Process Managment (HSPM)
One of the most effective methods for addressing compliance with today's international regulations and standards concerning hazardous substance control is through process management. Formal process management programs such as International Electrotechnical Commission Quality (IECQ) Hazardous Substance Process Management (HSPM) provide an infrastructure to control hazardous substances within your organization and to demonstrate the due diligence necessary to protect itself from liability. Process management encompasses the entire organization, including the product's customer requirements, product design, material procurement, manufacturing, and delivery to the customer and is the keystone to the Hazardous Substance Free program. When a product manufacturer implements a hazardous substance process management system which has been assessed and certified as being compliant with IECQ HSPM requirements, they are authorized to imprint on the packaging for the products produced under the certified HSPM system with the HSF Mark.
Intenationally Recognized Program
The Hazardous Substance Process Management (HSPM) and HSF Mark were developed by the IECQ, which is a Certification System of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The IEC was founded in 1906, in London, UK and its Head Office is in Geneva, Switzerland (CH). The IEC is one of the International Standardization Bodies recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO); others include ISO and ITU. The IEC Charter is to promote International Standardization in the Electrotechnical Sectors.
The IEC and its certification system (IECQ) is part of a hierarchy of standards, comprised of international, regional and national standards bodies/committees. At the international level are organizations such as International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and International Organization of Legal Metrology. At the national level are numerous organizations working to promote standardization compliant with the international and regional standards.
The purpose of the International IEC is to promote international co-operation on all questions of standardization and related matters in the field of electrotechnology. The range of activity addressed by IEC is very extensive and includes all aspects of products and industries involved with electricity and electronics, such as household appliances, computers, electric and electronic components, power generation plants, medical device equipment, batteries, power tools and light bulbs, just to name a few.
Benefits
The HSF Mark provides significant benefits to both consumers and product producers. It provides a central resource to learn and explore all aspects of the hazardous substance issues and concerns, current HSF news and activities, available resources, participating partners, current certified product types and products. The HSF program offers a community of both consumers and partners, allowing the sharing of concerns, information and support in navigating the complex environment of hazardous substance management. The HSF Mark provides consumers with the confidence that the products being purchased have been produced under a certified process management system as well as a method for manufacturers to communicate this message to their customers.
