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REDUCED USE OF RESTRICTED SUBSTANCES: |
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Lead (Pb)
use in products has been reduced by 82,700 tonnes in the EU
(unit of time not specified). Lead has been reduced in
copiers from > 1 kg to > 0.3 kg per product, but there has
been no change in TV sets (> 5 kg). Lead in waste streams
has been reduced by 58,400 tonnes in the EU (unit of time
not specified), or approximately 20%. |
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Cadmium (Cd)
use in products has been reduced by 14,200 tonnes. Cadmium
has been reduced in TV sets, copiers and refrigerators from
> 0.1 kg to > 0.01 per product. Cadmium in waste streams has
been reduced by 10,000 tonnes, or 63%. |
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Mercury
(Hg) use in products has been reduced by 9,500 tonnes
due to changes in copiers and fluorescent light bulbs.
Mercury in waste streams has been reduced by 6,900 tonnes,
or 56%. |
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Hexavalent
chromium (CrVI) use in products has not been reduced, but it
was little used before RoHS (> 0.1% by weight). |
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Deca-BDE
use in products has not been reduced. Deca-BDE remains at >
1 kg in TV sets, copiers and refrigerators. |
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Octa-BDE use in products was previously banned by Directive
76/769/EC. Octa-BDE in waste streams has been reduced by
37,800 tonnes, or 68%. |
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ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF LEAD-FREE SOLDER: |
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Lead-free
solder reduces the toxicity of waste electrical and
electronic equipment (WEEE). |
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Lead-free
soldering increases energy consumption
approximately 40%.
Factors include the wave soldering process used, the higher
melting points of most lead-free solders, and the mining and smelting
processes needed for silver and tin. |
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Lead-free
solders (both paste and bar) have a
positive impact on aquatic toxicity and
human health, especially non-cancer sources. |
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Lead-free
solders (both paste and bar) have a
negative impact on landfill space use and air quality (photochemical smog, acidification and air
particulates). Lead-free bar solders also have a negative
impact on resource use (renewable and non-renewable) and
climate (global warming
and ozone depletion). |
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The silver
and gold in lead-free solders may increase the rate of
recycling by increasing value of recovered materials. |
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LONG-TERM RELIABILITY OF RoHS SUBSTITUTES: |
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There are
no substantiated studies which predict the reliability of
lead-free solder assemblies 8 to 12 years into the future,
but there are studies which demonstrate the possibility of
tin whisker growth during that period (Test & Measurement
Coalition, 2006). |
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Short
circuiting and failure from tin whiskers (connective fibers)
increase the amount of waste electrical and electronic
equipment (WEEE) and is an "unintended consequence of RoHS."
Of particular concern are surface mounted components with
fine pitch leads (currently RoHS exemption #23). |
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ECONOMIC COSTS OF RoHS: |
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Past costs of complying with RoHS, including R&D and capital costs, averaged 1.9% of annual revenues
("turnover") or €3,185 per employee per year. Costs for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
were considerably higher at 5.2%. |
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Future
ongoing costs of complying with RoHS are estimated to be
0.4% of annual revenues or €273 per employee per year, with
costs to SMEs
considerably higher (authors believe estimates are very
conservative). The administrative burden consists chiefly of
(1) requesting RoHS conformity certificates or material
declarations from suppliers and (2) testing components for
compliance, typically using handheld XRF analyzers. |
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Lead-free
solder costs
approximately twice as much because it contains
metals like silver and gold, even when corrected for the
lower quantities (in tonnes) needed and an increased rate of
recycling. |
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Manufacturing costs increase because (1) lead-free components have higher
failure rates during manufacturing and require more re-work and repair, (2) energy costs
increase by approximately 19% due to the higher melting
temperatures required, (3) throughput decreases by 2 to 7% for some
manufacturers. |
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Stock
management costs increase because (1) not all
products are within the scope of RoHS and (2) not all markets have RoHS-like
legislation. |
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Opportunity costs
are
hard to quantify but occur when engineering efforts are
focused on RoHS compliance to the detriment of product
innovation or improved functionality. Statistics on the
number of scientific papers and US patents on lead-free
solders were used as a proxy for innovation but were not
interpreted, perhaps because the regulated market of the EU
fares so poorly in comparison with US and Japanese markets.
From 1998 to 2004, an average of 21 scientific papers yearly
were produced in the US, 17 in Japan and 12 in Europe. From
1993 to 2002, US patents issued to Japanese assignees
averaged 7.4 yearly, US assignees averaged 3.7 and European
assignees averaged 0.8. |
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The
exemption process
is lengthy
(often more than two years) and unpredictable, and
therefore costly. |
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ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF RoHS: |
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Increase of
communication across the supply chain
serves as a platform
for the implementation of REACH and other initiatives. |
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Tighter
process control, overall reduced number of defects and
increased production efficiency (contradicts information
appearing elsewhere in the report) |
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Increased
skill levels in the global workforce
due to retraining and
the knowledge transfer to Asia and less developed countries
(assumes that globalization is driven by RoHS). In addition,
"Japanese people and knowledge are seeking inspiration in
Europe and the US" (the condescension toward Japan is hard
to understand given the statistics on innovation contained
within the report). |
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Less
leaching in landfills because WEEE contains less hazardous
material and increased incentives for recycling because
lead-free solder contains silver and gold |
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Pressure on
other sectors (such as aerospace and IT industrial controls)
and countries to move to cleaner processes and reduced use
of hazardous materials (such as China RoHS and Korea RoHS) |
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Competitive
advantage for EU manufacturers in markets where RoHS
legislation is pending or contemplated |
