Some interesting items on manufacturing having to deal with changing environmental regs in this report.

-Bob Landman/H&L Instruments

http://blog.ipc.org/2010/01/07/ipc-annual-report-highlights-ipc-standards-international-and-government-relations/

Government Relations 

In 2009, IPC’s government relations efforts spanned the globe and tackled a host of environmental issues and global advocacy initiatives — from the ongoing revisions to the European Union’s RoHS Directive through tax relief to Canada’s potential ban of a key solder flux ingredient — IPC was kept busy representing its members’ diverse interests.

This past year, IPC’s Government Relations Committee continued to identify issues of interest to the membership and advocate for the industry. At an open forum during IPC APEX EXPOTM, the committee discussed both domestic and international issues. In May, the committee held a successful Capitol Hill Day in Washington, D.C. to advocate net operating loss (NOL) relief and a permanent Research and Development (R&D) tax credit. IPC efforts paid off later in the year when Congress enacted legislation to extend NOL relief to businesses of all sizes in 2008 and 2009. IPC continued to press for R&D tax relief throughout the year, and expects to see an extension of R&D tax credit enacted before the end of 2009.

With extensive lobbying by IPC, in conjunction with other electronics trade associatons and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), ruled that inaccessible electronic components in children’s products will not be subject to the lead limits that were enacted last summer under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This finding is critical to the electronics industry because electronics manufacturers that build children’s products will not need to meet CPSIA lead limits, which are lower than the limits in the European Union (EU) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive.

In the area of military technology, IPC urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to speed up the appointment of a (PCB) Executive Agent, as mandated in the FY 2009 National Defense Authorization Act. Over halfway into the year, the Navy was designated as the Executive Agent (EA) with a responsibility to oversee the development and implementation of a PCB and interconnect technology roadmap for DoD. IPC continues to urge DoD and Congress to fund the PCB EA program.

Recognizing the magnitude of the tasks before the EA, in January IPC mobilized a panel of experts comprising executives from leading North American PCB manufacturers to develop comprehensive policy recommendations for building upon and sustaining a North American PCB industry capable of supporting DoD needs and ensuring national security. With input from top military OEMs and months of research, the IPC PCB Executive Agent Task Force created a roadmap to assist the newly appointed DoD PCB Executive Agent. The IPC Printed Board Defense Roadmap was released at IPC’s Technology Interchange in December. 
 
On the environmental front, the recast of the EU RoHS Directive took an unpleasant, although expected, turn at the end of November as the Green Party and leading OEMs called for the restriction of Tetrabromobisphenol-a (TBBPA), the leading flame retardant in printed boards, despite the lack of scientific basis or evidence that any substances are better for the environment. IPC will continue to aggressively advocate that any changes to the RoHS Directive be scientifically based.

Low halogen electronics continue to be promoted and specified by major OEMs despite continuing questions as to whether they are better for the environment. This has become a very controversial issue for a number of IPC members. A recent ballot of a joint IPC and JEDEC guideline (J-STD-709) on the definition of low halogen electronics was not approved by the IPC membership.

IPC’s Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Committee, with input from the IPC Solder Product Value Council (SPVC) submitted comments in response to Canada’s Chemical Management Plan proposal banning five rosin-containing substances from all products manufactured and sold in Canada.

A ban on rosin would make it difficult for electronics manufacturers to continue to do business in Canada. “Military and telecommunications manufacturers, because of their specifications requiring rosin based fluxes to ensure product reliability, would be dramatically impacted if this ban was enacted,” Karl Seelig, vice president of technology for AIM Solder, Inc. and chairman of the IPC SPVC cautioned.

In November, IPC’s Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Steering Committee submitted comments to California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) on their proposal for a green chemistry regulation. The EHS committee comments urged the DTSC to adhere to a science-based, lifecycle approach to evaluating chemicals and to initially limit the scope of the regulation to the nine product categories identified in the first section of the straw proposal in order to be able to implement a more targeted, manageable regulation.

2009: A Year in Review

2009 was a year of uncertainty with the continuing effect of environmental legislation affecting the manufacture and reliability of electronic products. But it was also a year of global growth, strengthening industry’s voice through our lobbying efforts and providing the resources to assist our industry with their operations as transitions and new challenges arise.

This entry was written by Kim Sterling, posted on January 7, 2010 at 9:36 am, filed under Committees, Environment, Health and Safety, Executive Management, Government Relations, Standards and tagged IPC association. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. 

http://blog.ipc.org/2010/01/07/ipc-annual-report-highlights-ipc-standards-international-and-government-relations/

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