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Glossary

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A

Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG): AIAG provides an automotive industry standard spreadsheet for providing environmental information by manufacturers.

C

China RoHS: China RoHS refers to the directive published by China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) on March 1, 2006 and titled "Management Methods for Controlling Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products Regulation." China RoHS, which has an enforcement date of March 1, 2007, establishes a broad regulatory framework for substance restrictions, pre-market certifications, labeling, and information disclosure requirements.

Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) Number: CAS numbers represent chemical substances recorded in the CAS Chemical Registry System. This numbering system identifies chemical substances by an unambiguous computer language description of its molecular structure, including all stereo-chemical detail. The CAS number, which has no chemical significance, is simply a number assigned in sequential order to each substance as it enters the registry system. All specific substances reported in scientific and technical literature and indexed in Chemical Abstracts (CA) since 1965 (when the registry system began) are included in the master file.

Certificate of Compliance (CoC): A Certificate of Compliance is the declaration by a supplier to a producer that the components they manufacture are RoHS compliant according to the definitions and restrictions stated in the EU RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC. The CoC is not used to calculate compliance status of a Supplier part.

Compliance Connect: Centor spreadsheet application for the capturing of environmental information. Manufacturers use this application to report environmental material content.

D

Disclosure: A legal document created for the purpose of accurately describing a single manufactured product and its component substance(s) of concern. This document is required to also detail supplier information including company name, address, and the information regarding the individual creator of the document.

E

End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive: This directive requires that vehicle manufacturers provide the information needed for dismantling a vehicle, such as details of vehicle components and location of hazardous substances, to authorized recycling facilities.

H

High-Temperature Reflow: Applies to components that meet higher reflow temperatures required by Lead (Pb) Free surface mount technology soldering operations.

Homogeneous Material: A material that cannot be mechanically disjointed into different materials. The term homogeneous is understood as of uniform composition throughout. Examples of homogeneous materials would be individual types of plastics, ceramics, glass, metals, alloys, paper, board, resins and coatings. The term mechanically disjointed means that the materials can be, in principle, separated by mechanical actions such as unscrewing, cutting, crushing, grinding and abrasive processes.

I

IMDS: International Material Data System is the automotive industry material data system. In the IMDS, all materials used for car manufacture are archived and maintained. Only in this way is it possible to meet the obligations placed on car manufacturers, and thus on their suppliers, by national and international standards, laws and regulations.

L

Lead (Pb) Free: Electrical and electronic assemblies and components in which the Lead (Pb) level in any of the homogeneous materials and the end product is less than 0.1% by weight.

M

Material: A material is made up of one or more substances, and is one or more of the components making up a product. For example, plastics are materials that contain numerous substances. Some of these substances may require disclosure, such as flame retardants, asbestos fillers, certain colorants, as well as substances that are not restricted by law, but are required by supplier agreement.

P

Product: A manufactured item with a unique identification number (part number). The item (as delivered in commerce) that the respondent is supplying (e.g., assembly, subassembly, component, raw material) is the product. All products will have at least one substance, and frequently many materials and substances.

R

REACH: In an effort to simplify and streamline chemical regulation, the European Commission has presented a proposal for a new regulatory framework for chemicals. Under the new system, known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), businesses that manufacture or import more than one metric ton of a chemical substance annually would be required to register it in a central database.

Recyclate: Materials that can be put or pass through a cycle again, as for further treatment.

RoHS: The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2004 implement the provisions of the European Parliament and Council Directive on the Restrictions of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (2002/95/EC) (RoHS Directive). The restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment applies to the following substances: Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, PBB and PDBE. In order to comply with the EU RoHS legislation all of these substances must either be removed, or must be reduced to within maximum permitted concentrations, in any products containing electrical or electronic components that will be sold within the European Union after 1 July 2006.

RoHS Compliance: For the purposes of the RoHS Regulations, a maximum concentration value to 0.1% by weight in homogeneous materials for lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB and PBDE and of up to 0.01% by weight in homogeneous materials for cadmium will be permitted in the manufacture of new EEE (Electrical and Electronic Equipment).

S

Substance: Substances are chemical elements and their compounds. In general, these are the basic building blocks of materials, and thus products. Substances are the subjects of the legislation or other reporting requirements. Examples of substances include elements such as copper and zinc as well as complex compounds such as the ozone depleting chemicals such as CFCs, HCFCs and HBFCs.

Substances of Concern (SoC): A group of chemical compounds and chemical elements that are of concern due to regulatory and/or contractual restrictions. Many of these restrictions are specific to a nation or a union of nations. The EIA has outlined many of these substances in the Joint Industry Standards (JIS). These standards (and proposed standards) are currently divided into two groups; Level A and Level B substances. Examples of substances of concern include elements such as lead and cadmium.

T

Threshold Level: Concentration level, which defines the limit, above which the presence of a substance or material in a product or subpart must be declared. For example: for the Joint Industry Guide A list, the threshold level is usually set at any intentional addition unless the statutory level at which regulation takes place is more stringent. For Level B, the default threshold level is frequently 1000 (or 75) parts per million. These levels are calculated based on the total product weight. Reporting below the threshold level is allowed, but not required.

W

WEEE: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (2002/96/EC) mandates that producers of electronic equipment exported to and manufactured within the European Union be financially responsible for the recovery, recycling and environmentally-sound treatment of WEEE.