IPC celebrates Canadian victory
07 July 2010
In a triumph for IPC members and the Canadian electronics industry, the Canadian Department of the Environment has elected not to ban five rosin-containing substances from all products manufactured and sold in the country.
The Department concluded that the five rosins identified under Batch 10 of the Canadian Chemicals Management Plan are not inherently toxic, bioaccumulative or persistent and, therefore, do not pose a threat to human health or the environment.
In October 2009, IPC, along with its Solder Products Value Council and Environment, Health and Safety Committee submitted comments to the Canadian Department of the Environment with an in-depth analysis of how banning rosins would negatively affect the reliability, functionality and safety of all electronic products.
“Restricting rosins would have made it extremely difficult for electronics manufacturers to continue doing business in Canada. Canada made the right decision,” stated Karl Seelig, Vice President of Technology for AIM Solder, Inc., and Chairman of the IPC Solder Products Value Council.
Rosins are key ingredients in soldering materials used in the manufacture of more than 75% of electronics products, including sophisticated defence systems and telecommunication and transportation technologies that do not have any suitable alternatives.
Irene Sterian, Engineering Manager at Celestica and a member of the IPC Government Relations Committee, added: “The electronics industry applauds Canada for basing their decision on sound science. This decision reassures us that governments do have the capabilities to use scientific information when developing regulations. We hope that governments around the globe use Canada as an example when developing regulations that restrict substances.”
In its comments to the Department, IPC concluded that due to the unique characteristics of rosins, there are no other chemicals or combination of chemicals known that can provide the same functionality and reliability. Banning rosin would have forced a change in the composition of soldering flux and solder paste that would have ultimately affected the reliability of the final electronic product. IPC’s comments also highlighted the important point that rosins have not been found to cause harm to human health and the environment and, therefore, should not be restricted.
IPC has been, and continues to be, a strong advocate for science-based environmental regulations.
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