Ben Franklin: “Nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes”. If Franklin were alive today, he would have many items to add to that statement. In the electronics industry – and its supply chains – a contemporary item he would include is product environmental compliance.
Since the European Union (EU) passed the Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives in 2003, the world has begun to pay more and more attention to product environmental compliance. Eco-Compliance legislation impacting the electronics Industry and its supply chains has grown exponentially. Jurisdictions implementing legislation that impacts the electronics industry include: China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Venezuela, Canada and United States of America. Many are similar to the European Union’s legislation; but none are using it verbatim.
In addition to RoHS and WEEE legislations, the EU instituted an updated regulation regarding chemicals, mixtures, and articles. Registration, Evaluation, Authorization of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) began affecting the electronics industry a few years ago, and has now become the basis for many compliance activities.
Two of the more important publications in the area of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Measurement Uncertainty (MU) are LAB 34 and CISPR 16-4-2. EMC and Measurement Uncertainty are receiving more attention as other CISPR Product Family Standards begin to adopt MU. LAB 34 is “The Expression of Uncertainty in EMC Testing” and is published by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). CISPR 16-4-2 is published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and is titled “Specification for Radio Disturbance and Immunity Measuring Apparatus and Methods – Part 4-2: Uncertainties, Statistics, and Limit Modeling – Uncertainty in EMC Measurements.” This article compares and contrasts the two MU documents.
