IPC Electronics Symposium to Highlight RoHS Revisions, Other Key Regulations

BANNOCKBURN, IL — Environmental regulations on chemicals and substances continue to grow worldwide, often driven by political pressures. While some focus on manufacturing wastes, such as air and wastewater emissions, there is a growing lexicon of regulations which focus on the chemicals contained in products. To help companies understand new laws, regulations and regulatory trends, IPC will hold an IPC Symposium on Electronics and the Environment on July 19–21, 2010, in Boston, Mass.

Increasingly, these regulations are affecting every level of the electronics manufacturing supply chain. Symposium speakers represent companies such as Dow Electronic Materials, Celestica, Texas Instruments and Design Chain Associates. Topics include:

• European Union’s RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) revisions

• Latest revisions to changing EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation

• Overview of chemical regulatory regimes in Asia

• Update on Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan

• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) interpretation of the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act)

• California’s developing Green Chemistry regulations and National Standards Foundation (NSF) Sustainability Standard

• Highlights of newly-revised IPC-1752A Materials Declaration standard and overview of tools available

• Overview of flame-retardant regulations and voluntary halogen-free standards

Workshops are scheduled preceding and following the symposium. On July 19, the workshop, Understanding the Fundamentals of the REACH Regulation, will provide a “soup to nuts” primer that will serve as foundation for the symposium on July 20–21. On July 21, Understanding and Implementing IPC-1752A on Materials Declaration will cover new revisions to this industry standard for materials content data and will help attendees implement the changes in their companies.

For more information on the IPC Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, or tabletop and sponsorship opportunities, visit http://www.ipc.org/green-symposium.

IPC (http://www.ipc.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,700 member companies which represent all facets of the electronic interconnect industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.7 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; and Shanghai and Shenzhen, China.