ROHS and Prop 65 regulated materials: Alternative to the mdsystems database?

[RosieA]

I posed this question in another thread, 2 months ago, but didn't get any responses, maybe because it was buried. Let me try it from the persepctive of a whole new thread.

My company is getting inundated with requests for compliance to ROHS and Prop 65 regulated materials. The issues are complex, such as the definition of lead free and cadmium free. Every customer seems to have a different definition.

The only database that addresses this that we know of is the mdsystems one, and that is focused on the automotive industry.

Are there any other databases, not automotive, out there besides the mdsystems.com one, that are from other industries? It seems silly for us all to undertake this effort individually when the information is needed universally.

Thanks

[Randy]

You might want to look to the electronics and/or micro-electronics industry, much of what they do is going lead free.

Also check with Japanese companies like Sony and see how they address this.

Have you done a Google search?

[Squid]

We are a Japanese company but we are also an automotive company. I will look tomorrow when I am work as I have some pretty good definitions and such. I will pass them along and hope that they help. I also have a data sheet from Ashland Chemical when they set up our Universal Waste Stream Program and both were listed. As they are our waste disposer, I would think their definitons might be right on the money. Sorry I dont have the info here at home, but like I said, I will pass on tomorrow (11/04/03) Have a great evening. Sorry I posted this in the wrong place. I will try again. Sorry still learning

[Randy]

Hey you're doing OK there pardner. Feel free and jump in anywhere you choose. I'm glad to see ya...

[RosieA]

Originally Posted by Randy

You might want to look to the electronics and/or micro-electronics industry, much of what they do is going lead free.

Also check with Japanese companies like Sony and see how they address this.

Have you done a Google search?

Sony is actually one of the customers driving this initiative in-house, along with Motorola. We also have Engineering guys on industry standards committees that are looking at these issue. Sony's only recommendation was the mdsystems database.

One of the frustrations is that the customers aren't doing more to coordinate the information. We are one of several vendors using the same materials. We're all being asked to research the same information from the same suppliers, without any attempt at coordination, or even a good set of ground rules.

We've created our own database internally, but it's slow going and the expense of testing materials is falling heavily on us. It's frustrating to have to bear the expense of testing when the testing has already been done by someone else.

[Marc]

RosieA,

Just wondering, what did you find out?

[RosieA]

Hiya Marc,

We've not found anything other than the mdsystem database. We don't have an industry association that might coordinate this on our behalf, so we're off doing our own thing.

One of our frustrations is that the companies driving this are not sharing nformation, and making each supplier research everything on the BOM. So there are multiple companies researching the same components and investing the money to do all the testing required. There needs to be a lot more coordination on this topic for businesses.

Rosie

[jnktaylor]

RosieA,
Have you seen Agile's Environmental Compliance?
http://www.agile.com/pressreleases/index.asp?view=294

It's part of a pricey Product Lifecycle Managment package.