Most want U.S. RoHS law
By Staff -- Purchasing, 1/4/2007 2:36:00 PM
Congress should enact a Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) law to create a single compliance standard for all U.S. states, according to a three-month on-line poll of engineers and purchasers conducted by catalog distributor Newark InOne.
The European Union's RoHS directive took effect July 1, 2006 and restricts the amount of lead and five other substances that can be used in new electronic and electrical equipment sold to EU countries. China also ahs enacted a RoHS law and that will begin phasing in on March 1st. Many U.S. states have passed RoHS-like legislation. "Increasing and varying state-by-state rules are already causing unnecessary complexity for electronic manufacturers and distributors who must try to track and meet them all," says Paul Tallentire, Newark InOne president. "Are we going to wait until we have 50-state laws with 50 flavors, before we enact a uniform national standard for our industry?" Tallentire says global competition is another reason to pass legislation. "China RoHS takes effect in a few months, and its intent is to ensure that its own manufacturers can continue to export electronic goods to the EU and the rest of the world. Are the stakes any less for US manufacturers?" The final results of the Newark InOne poll are: 1028 respondents clicked "yes", 478 clicked "no", and 78 were "unsure". The poll concluded December 12. Visitors to the site are primarily engineers and component buyers.
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