Proposed IEC Standard on Halogen-Free Raises Concerns
July 10, 2017 | IPCEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Like the game Whack-a-Mole, the idea of a standard for low-halogen electronics keeps popping up. Originally, proposed as an IPC specification of chlorine and bromine in copper-clad laminates, IEC 61249-2-21 was established many years ago to define FR-4 products for halogen-free.
Then about a decade ago, concerns about certain toxic bromine-containing flame-retardants (polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and concerns regarding incomplete combustion of PVC and bromine-containing plastics in electronics led to the passage of the EU WEEE Regulation and RoHS Directive which banned the toxic substances and mandated appropriate handling of waste electronics.
Despite the removal of any toxic halogen-containing compounds from the electronics supply chain, IPC and JEDEC members began discussions about the development of a standard for low halogen electronics. IPC, with its broad membership and open voting processes, never approved the low halogen standard, which was deemed to be a marketing tool posing as an environmental standard. JEDEC, with its narrower membership, went ahead and passed and published "Definition of 'Low Halogen' for Electronic Products” in 2015.
In 2016, the JEDEC standard was temporarily (up to six years) approved by IEC TC 111 (environmental standardization committee) as an IEC publicly available specification (PAS), despite the broad questions that were raised regarding technical validity. Revision and permanent adoption of the standard is now being considered by TC 111. The proposed revision would define electronics as “Low Halogen” when they “contain less than 0,9% (by mass) total elemental halogen content (F+Cl+Br+I) and meet the thresholds of all halogenated substances in IEC 91 62474 database." The proposed standard is concerning not just because of the content of the proposal, but by the labeling of low halogen as an environmental standard.
The standard is in the Committee Draft Phase which means it is being circulated for comments to all IEC TC111 member countries. The deadline for comment is September 15, 2017. If you are concerned, contact your country’s IEC National Committee and the IEC TC111 representatives.
Suggested Items
Advocacy: There’s No Time to Waste
05/21/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIn the late 1990s, I worked for a PCB company ardently working to build manufacturing presences in Malaysia, Taiwan, and eventually China’s mainland. For some of us who had the resources, we followed our OEM customers offshore as they began demanding increasingly greater price concessions from their stateside suppliers. The government was not coming to the rescue of the PCB manufacturer, so we rode the changing economic tide as it turned unwaveringly toward globalism and cheaper labor.
GPV Holds Site Engagement Meeting in Estonia
05/21/2024 | GPVGPV’s Executive Leadership Team met with the local management teams from our Operating Business Units (OBUs) located in best-cost Europe, Mexico and Austria for the third and final Site Engagement Meeting (SEM) this year.
Kimball Electronics Tampa Celebrated the Diversity of their Workforce with a Diversifest Taste of Cultures Event
05/21/2024 | Kimball ElectronicsKimball Electronics Tampa employees representing over 15 countries set up booths that demonstrated their culture and customs, including clothing, food, music and general facts.
Kimball Electronics Romania Volunteers Deliver Hope and Aid to Remote Mountain Communities
05/20/2024 | Kimball Electronics Inc.A significant portion of the Kimball Electronics Romania leadership team, along with employees and their children, participated in a two-day service project in remote mountain villages within a nearby county.
Danutek Celebrates 20 Anniversary
05/20/2024 | DanutekDanutek, a leading supplier of capital equipment and service support to the electronics manufacturing sector in Europe, proudly marks its 20th anniversary this year.