Demand for IECQ Hazardous Substances Certification Grows

Growth due to global trend toward environmentally-friendly products and social responsibility.

 

Australia, China, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, and the U.S. state of California are among the places that are considering, or have already passed, legislation limiting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products. European Union RoHS (Restrictions of Hazardous Substances) in electrical and electronic equipment and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) took effect in July 2006, and a revision of those directives is currently under consideration.

Informational Videos   For more information on ROHS and hazardous substance process maanagment, watch these videos.   Special Report: Hazardous Substance Process Management—Intro   Special Report: Hazardous Substance Process Management—Part 1   Special Report: Hazardous Substance Process Management—Part 2

Although hazardous substances may pose a health risk to workers handling them or to end-users, the main danger comes when the product is discarded. Rapid technology evolution and shorter life cycles for products such as computers, mobile phones, and multimedia equipment have resulted in a fast-growing excess of electronic waste around the globe. In general, legislation aims to provide for the creation of collection schemes where consumers can return their used e-waste free of charge. The objective of these schemes is to increase the recycling and reuse of such products. It also requires the substitution of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium, and of flame retardants such as PBBs (polybrominated biphenyls) or PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), with safer alternatives.

The issue is of the utmost importance to everyone—from the electronic component manufacturer who supplies printed circuit boards to electronics companies, to the consumer buying and then discarding the end product.

IECQ HSPM is part of the solution

Electronic component suppliers need to demonstrate that their products comply with requirements to be free of hazardous substances. The IECQ (IEC quality assessment system for electronic components) HSPM (hazardous substances process management) is a technically-based management systems approach to implementing and maintaining hazardous-substance-free products and production processes. IECQ HSPM was developed in response to the component manufacturer’s needs to give suppliers the means to demonstrate, through third-party assessment, that their electrical and electronic components and assemblies meet specific hazardous-substance-free local, national, and international requirements.

The IECQ HSPM Scheme, introduced in 2005, has proved to be extremely successful, with close to 2,000 certificates issued to date. Recently, two U.S.-based IECQ certification bodies, DNV (Det Norske Veritas) and UL-DQS Inc., announced the issuing of their 100th IECQ HSPM certificate.

"I was delighted to be able to present plaques on behalf of the U.S. National Authorized Institution, the ECCB (Electronic Components Certification Board), and IECQ to representatives of both DNV and UL-DQS at the recent ECCB board meeting at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington, for achieving 100 IECQ HSPM certifications" says IECQ Chairman David W. Smith. "These achievements reinforce the significant progress that is being made in the worldwide acceptance of IECQ HSPM, to specification IECQ QC 080000, as the way for businesses to independently verify that their hazardous substance processes meet the appropriate 'green' requirements. I congratulate both DNV and UL-DQS once again and look forward to their 200-certificate milestones.”

Lloyd Condra, ECCB chairman, and Dave Smith, IECQ chairman are pictured here with Harvey Berman, center, accepting a plaque on behalf of UL-DQS for achieving 100 IECQ HSPM certifications.

Al Engler (center) between Condra and Smith, accepts a plaque on behalf of DNV.

This shows that demand for IECQ HSPM certification is growing fast as part of a global trend toward environmentally-friendly products and a higher level of responsibility on environmental protection. The need for environmentally-friendly products is expressed at all levels of society. In this respect, governmental agencies, legislators, industry, and consumers are on the same wavelength. Reducing or eliminating hazardous substances from products is a major part of that effort. It is the success story of IECQ HSPM certification.

For a manufacturer, achieving IECQ HSPM certification sends strong signals of its commitment to the preservation of the environment, allows compliance with the strictest legislation in the field and opens new business opportunities worldwide, as attested by companies holding IECQ HSPM certification.

This article first appeared in the October 2009 issue of IEC's e-Tech.

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