Thanks, Bob, for getting the word out on this.  I, for one, appreciate
your efforts to rally some sort of action from industry in this matter.

I remember directly learning something important from a biotech CEO who 
was confronted with the prospect of some sort of "potential" 
governmental action surrounding a public statement made by the company. 
  His counsel urged him to proactively kowtow to the government's 
circumscribed region of enforcement, and withdraw the statement (which 
was, by the way, entirely factual).

His response to the situation: He simply called his counsel "a bunch of
cowards," and went on with the day.  No further action was ever necessary...

On that point, here's something for us all to consider in this entire
lead-free debacle: Greed breeds gutlessness; and gutlessness breeds
tyranny.  The silence is truly deafening, isn't it folks?

Keep up the good work, Bob.  Right is always worth the fight --


Marcus Thompson

P.S.: Thanks for hosting your collection of RoHS articles on the
H&L Instruments site (http://www.hlinstruments.com/RoHS_articles).  You
might think of adding  "Lead-free from One NASA Perspective," available
from the American Competitiveness Institute
(http://www.aciusa.org/leadfree/LFS_SUMMIT-PDF/07_SAMPSON_NASA_Lead_Free_Inputs.pdf), 

to your collection.
Page 20 of this paper absolutely seals the deal for anyone with any
sense at all...



--- Previous Message in This Thread ---
Subject: [LF] Revisiting the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976:  H.R.
2420
From: Bob Landman <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 4:08:50 PM

>>From Bob Landman/H&L Instruments
> 
> (reposting to the IPC list with some additional info and also posting to the ROHSPUSHBACK forum)
> 
> Are you aware of a new bill in Congress (H.R. 2420).  It will ban lead in solder except for a few areas of industry. If your product is not listed here, it is NO LONGER EXEMPT if this bill becomes law.
> 
> If you are aware of the bill, what is your company's position?  Has the company withdrawn support of NEMA?
> Is your company willing to lobby against this bill unless it is changed?
> 
> NEMA has sponsered the bill which means that ALL the companies listed here (some of them taking the RoHS exemption, just slit their own throats.  http://www.nema.org/mfgs/
> 
> This is their call to action http://www.nema.org/gov/env_conscious_design/
> 
> Environmental Stewardship
> NEMA > Policy Issues > Environmental Stewardship 
> 
> NEMA Environmental Stewardship Initiative
> 
> In 2006, the electroindustry through NEMA announced a voluntary, industry-wide commitment known as the NEMA “Call to Action” to achieve the elimination or reduction of six substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers) in many NEMA member products by July 2010 on a global basis. This commitment reflects standards originally enacted in European markets under the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, but NEMA members chose to extend their compliance with the standard to all markets in which electroindustry products are sold.  The “Call to Action” initiative also includes a second phase to identify further product stewardship measures, such as additional hazardous materials reductions and recycling programs.  The goal is to have those additional initiatives in place by July 2014. 
> 
> H.R. 2420, Environmental Design of Electrical Equipment Act ("EEDE Act")
> 
> With the input of the electroindustry and NEMA members, legislation was drafted to codify the industry’s 2010 commitment for the initial RoHS substances into U.S. federal law. After significant work and outreach to Capitol Hill, H.R. 2420, the Environmental Design of Electrical Equipment Act of 2009 (the “EDEE Act”), was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX) on May 14, 2009.  To urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 2420, please click here.  NEMA continues to work to secure the introduction of a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.
> 
>     * H.R. 2420, the Environmental Design of Electrical Equipment Act of 2009 (“EDEE Act”)
>     * Issue Brief on the Environmental Design of Electrical Equipment Act of 2009 (H.R. 2420)
>     * White Paper on the Environmental Design of Electrical Equipment Act of 2009 (H.R. 2420)
> 
> =================
> I found this:  http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1505 which explains what the driving force is for the bill.
> 
> Revisiting the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 Hearings - Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection February 26, 2009
> 
> The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a hearing titled, ‘Revisiting the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976’ at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 26, 2009, in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing addressed critical gaps in the statute and explore how these gaps hinder effective chemical safety policy in the United States.
> 
> The following witnesses were invited to testify:
> 
>     * John Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and the Environment, Government Accountability Office
>     * J. Clarence Davies, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future (Former EPA Assistant Administrator for Policy in the George H.W. Bush Administration)
>     * Maureen Swanson, Healthy Children Project Coordinator, Learning Disabilities Association of America
>     * Cecil Corbin-Mark, Deputy Director/Director for Policy Initiatives, WE ACT For Environmental Justice (West Harlem Environmental Action)
>     * Michael Wright, Director of Health and Safety, United Steelworkers
>     * Richard Denison, Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund
>     * Kathy Gerwig, Vice President, Workplace Safety and Environmental Stewardship Officer, Kaiser Permanente
>     * Cal Dooley, President and CEO, American Chemistry Council
>     * V.M. DeLisi, President, Fanwood Chemical, Inc., Chairman, International Affairs Committee, Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association
>     * Charles T. Drevna, President, National Petrochemical & Refiners Association 
> 
> This explains why there is this new bill in Congress:  H.R. 2420 which makes the use of lead in solder illegal except in very few specific areas.
> I got the text of the bill from this link  http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2420
> 
> NOTE:  You can sign up to track the bill as it winds through Congress (no charge) at the above link.
> 
> 111th CONGRESS
> 1st Session
> H. R. 2420
> To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 to ensure a uniform Federal scheme of regulation of restrictions in the use of certain substances in electrical products and equipment in interstate and foreign commerce, and for other purposes. 
> 
> SEC. 4. UNIFORM FEDERAL SCHEME OF REGULATION.
> 
> (a) Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding at the end the following:
> 
> ‘(f) Certain Applications-
> 
> ‘(1) ELECTROINDUSTRY PRODUCTS- As used in subsection (e), the term ‘electroindustry product’ means any product or equipment that is directly used to facilitate the transmission, distribution, or control of electricity, or that uses electrical power for arc welding, lighting, signaling protection and communication, or medical imaging, or electrical motors and generators.
> 
> ‘(2) NATIONAL STANDARDS- Except for those electroindustry products and product categories set forth in paragraph (3), no electroindustry product shall be manufactured after July 1, 2010, that contains a concentration value greater than 0.1 percent by weight of lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) as measured in any homogeneous material contained in the electroindustry product, or a concentration value greater than 0.01 percent of cadmium as measured in any homogeneous material contained in the electroindustry product. For purposes of this section, ‘homogeneous material’ means a material of uniform composition throughout that cannot be mechanically disjointed into different materials.
> 
> ‘(3) ELECTROINDUSTRY PRODUCTS AND PRODUCT CATEGORIES- The processing and/or use of the specified chemical substances in any of the following electroindustry products and equipment shall not be subject to any restriction or requirement that is designed to protect against a risk of injury to health or the environment, and shall in no manner be restricted, by the States or any political subdivision of a State in accordance with section 2617(c)(1)(B):
> 
> ‘(A) Lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers contained in--
> 
> ‘(i) products or equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of 300 volts or above;
> 
> ‘(ii) products or equipment used in fixed installations; [Struck out->][ For purposes of this subsection, ‘fixed installation’ means a combination of equipment, systems, finished products and/or components, not including lighting equipment that encompasses lighting fixtures and lamps, assembled and/or erected by an assembler/installer at a given place to operate together in an expected environment to perform a specific task, but not intended to be placed in commerce as a single functional or commercial unit ][<-Struck out] ;
> 
> ‘(iii) signaling protection and communication systems and products, including healthcare communications and emergency call systems;
> 
> ‘(iv) surface transportation information management and control systems, subsystems, equipment, components, and services, including equipment used to design, install, operate, and maintain such systems;
> 
> ‘(v) medical diagnostic imaging and therapy equipment and devices, communications and emergency call systems and products, modular walls, consoles, systems, products, panels, meters, and monitors used in healthcare facilities;
> 
> ‘(vi) shunt capacitors and series capacitors;
> 
> ‘(vii) electro-mechanical and solid-state equipment and systems for measurement, display recording, processing, and telemetry for electricity metering and associated information;
> 
> ‘(viii) distribution and power transformers and special purpose transformers;
> 
> ‘(ix) equipment used for mounting or testing watt-hour or demand meters such as sockets, boxes, enclosures, test blocks, test tables, and test kits;
> 
> ‘(x) high voltage fuses, high current connectors, power circuit breakers, switchgear assemblies, surge arrestors, and insulating equipment, products, and hardware;
> 
> ‘(xi) steam turbine generators and units;
> 
> ‘(xii) electrical wire and cable products and accessories, not including fixture wires, appliance wires, and flexible cords as so classified by the National Electrical Code, by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., or by the Canadian Standards Association;
> 
> ‘(xiii) electrical conduit;
> 
> ‘(xiv) high intensity discharge lamps;
> 
> ‘(xv) arc welding and plasma cutting equipment designed for industrial or professional use; or
> 
> ‘(xvi) arc welding and cutting equipment driven by mechanical means, e.g., a gasoline or diesel engine.
> 
> ‘(B) Lead when used or contained in--
> 
> ‘(i) steel alloys containing up to 0.35 percent lead by weight, aluminum alloys containing up to 0.4 percent lead by weight and copper alloys containing up to 4 percent lead by weight;
> 
> ‘(ii) solders with high melting temperatures, including lead-based alloys containing 85 percent or more lead by weight, and solders for--
> 
> ‘(I) die mounting in Light Emitting Diode applications;
> 
> ‘(II) the electrical connection within integrated-circuit flip-chip packages;
> 
> ‘(III) machined through-hole discoidal and planar array ceramic multilayer capacitors; and
> 
> ‘(IV) printed circuit board assemblies and point-to-point soldered assemblies, up to 40 percent lead by weight, and when used in transmission, distribution, power supply, or control devices designed to be installed in electrical outlet boxes and/or switch boxes, in emergency lighting equipment, in trip units in circuit breakers, or in sensors used for lighting control;
> 
> ‘(iii) glass used in plasma display panels or surface conduction electron emitter displays or for flat fluorescent lamps in liquid crystal displays, or in incandescent lamps;
> 
> ‘(iv) finishes of fine-pitch components other than connectors with a pitch of 0.65 millimeters or less with nickel-iron lead frames or copper-lead frames;
> 
> ‘(v) coatings not exceeding 0.5 percent by weight for tin babbitt alloy coated sleeve bearings;
> 
> ‘(vi) gateway hardware between lighting controls protocols and building management protocols;
> 
> ‘(vii) red ink used in exit signs not exceeding 0.005 milligrams per lens;
> 
> ‘(viii) fluorescent lamps;
> 
> ‘(ix) electrical connector coatings; or
> 
> ‘(x) lead-bronze bearing shells and bushes.
> 
> ‘(C) Cadmium and its compounds when used or contained in--
> 
> ‘(i) electrical contacts, cadmium plating and switch contacts, including those used in thermal protectors in lighting ballasts, and luminaires containing such ballasts; or
> 
> ‘(ii) cadmium-copper alloys for wire conductors.
> 
> ‘(D) Hexavalent chromium when used or contained in electrical connectors, corrosion-prevention coatings for fasteners and metals in emergency lighting equipment or electromagnetic interference shielding, and noncurrent carrying electrical devices.
> 
> ‘(E) Mercury when used or contained in--
> 
> ‘(i) straight fluorescent lamps for general purposes, but not exceeding 10 milligrams in halophosphate lamps, 5 milligrams in triphosphate lamps with a normal lifetime, and 8 milligrams in triphosphate lamps with a long lifetime;
> 
> ‘(ii) straight fluorescent lamps for special purposes;
> 
> ‘(iii) compact fluorescent lamps equal to or greater than 9 inches;
> 
> ‘(iv) compact fluorescent lamps less than 25 watts, not exceeding 5 milligrams per lamp;
> 
> ‘(v) compact fluorescent lamps equal to or greater than 25 watts, not exceeding 6 milligrams per lamp;
> 
> ‘(vi) high output/very high output linear fluorescent lamps greater than 32 millimeters in diameter;
> 
> ‘(vii) preheat linear fluorescent lamps; or
> 
> ‘(viii) luminaires when containing any mercury-added lamps identified under [Struck out->][ subsection (f)(3)(E)(i)-(vii) ][<-Struck out] .
> 
> ‘(F) Any processing and/or use of a specified chemical substance in an electroindustry product other than those identified in this subsection as the Administrator may establish by rule.’.
> 
> (b) Section 18 of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. 2617) is amended by adding at the end the following:
> 
> ‘(c) Preemption- (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no State or political subdivision of a State may, after the effective date of this Act, adopt or continue in effect any requirement that is designed to protect against a risk of injury to health or the environment--
> 
> ‘(A) for any electroindustry product as defined in section 2605(f)(1) that is inconsistent with or more stringent than the national standards set forth in section 2605(f)(2); or
> 
> ‘(B) that is applicable to the processing and/or use of the specified chemical substances in any of the electroindustry products or electroindustry product categories set forth in section 2605(f)(3).
> 
> ‘(2) Upon application of a State or political subdivision of a State, the Administrator may, by rule, exempt from section 2605(f)(3), under such conditions as may be prescribed in such rule, a requirement of such State or political subdivision designed to protect against an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment associated with any of the uses of any chemical substance, mixture, or article containing such chemical substance or mixture specified in section 2605(f)(3) if--
> 
> ‘(A) compliance with the requirement would not cause the processing, distribution in commerce, or use of the substance, mixture, or article to be in violation of the Act; and
> 
> ‘(B) the State or political subdivision requirement does not, through difficulties in manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or other factors, unduly burden interstate commerce, or does not lessen the reliability of an electrical grid or of any product or system which is the subject of any such requirement of a State or political subdivision of a State.
> 
> ‘(3) Compliance with the national standards set forth in section 2605(f)(2) may be demonstrated based on any appropriate method for a particular electroindustry product, including without limitation, certifications of compliance by product manufacturers or testing performed in accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator under this subsection. The Administrator shall, within one year from the effective date of this Act, promulgate guidelines establishing test procedures for determining the concentration of lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and/or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) contained in an electroindustry product.’.
> 
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