The title of EU Directive 2002/95/EG is "Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electronic equipment". With effect from 1.7.2006, this prohibits the sale throughout EU territory of electrical appliances that contain more than mere traces of lead, cadmium, chromium VI, mercury or PBB/PBDE polybrominated flame inhibitors. Electronics manufacturers have to be able to produce evidence that their appliances are RoHS-compliant. The following limits of substance content apply:

These values apply to every material, including raw material, specified in a piece of equipment, e.g. each solder and each component.

SCHURTER is demonstrating a continued commitment to safe working and environmental responsibility. We ensure that energy sources and materials are handled both economically and sensibly. For more information please see SCHURTER's Sustainability Report

When developing components it is important to lessen the environmental impact of potential pollutants and at the same time meet customers' increasing demands for environmentally compatible products.

SCHURTER established a project team as early as 1999 with the goal to achieve the lead-free and RoHS-compliant solutions at the earliest possible opportunity. The emphasis was on lead from the very beginning, since SCHURTER components barely consist of other materials affected by the RoHS Directive. Working alongside customers and suppliers we sought and evaluated alternatives to materials and techniques that used lead. Since 2006, we supply tin and copper alloys that have proved their compliance in our tests.

The lead-free components have been exhaustively tested and meet both SCHURTER's technical requirements and its high quality standards.

In January 2005, we have successfully introduced a whole range of lead-free products into the market and in 2006, we completely switched our product lines to lead free.

Thanks to our many years of process experience and longstanding international partnerships, we are able to ensure the reliability of our components in respect of their solderability in accordance with the required IEC 60068-2-20 standard. We continuously improve cost-effective lead-free production techniques that secure SCHURTER's high product quality.

SCHURTER has successfully conducted the following tests:

In order to ensure that RoHS-compliant components can be identified as simply as possible,

SCHURTER has introduced the logo depicted on the right. Once we have checked that a product

conforms to RoHS 2002/95/EC the logo is be printed on the packaging label and declared in the data sheet.

The existing lead-free logo is being kept and will be printed on a lead-free component's

packaging label and declared in the data sheet in addition to the RoHS logo. For a definition

of "lead-free" please see next item.

Widely supported clarifications in the entire delivery chain are supported by SCHURTER, in order to ensure that all raw materials and semi-finished products comply with the directives.

Materials' specifications are checked against this information and alternative are solutions

sought where necessary. SCHURTER's main concern is with lead. We successfully solved this issue ahead of EU RoHS' deadline of July 2006, and currently virtually every component is RoHS-compliant.

The example on the right shows how SCHURTER labels RoHS-compliant products. The lead-free

logo will be shown on all products for which lead is not a specified material, i.e. the lead

content is lower than the limit value of 1000 ppm. In SCHURTER's case this includes all the

products to which the exceptions described in chapter 5.4 do not apply.

Two exceptions are relevant to SCHURTER. These are where lead is specified as a material,

which means that the products do not qualify as being lead-free: they qualify for the RoHS

logo but but not the lead-free one.

1) A lead content of up to 4% by weight (= 40'000 ppm) is allowed for alloys of copper.

This means that all brass parts may continue to contain a limited amount of lead.

Example: although switch T11 contains some parts containing 2% lead, T11 is

RoHS-compliant because the lead is contained in a CuZn alloy

2)SnPb solders continue to be permitted provided that high temperature soldering techniques

are employed and that they solder are contains at least 85% lead.

Examples: SMD-FST, SMD-FTT, and SMD-SPT fuses

SCHURTER is providing product overview lists that display the current RoHS and lead-free status by product type or group. The same format is used for all SCHURTER products; the lists contain detailed information and are regularly updated by the responsible product managers.

Here is an example for fuses:

We maintain a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and update it on a regular basis.

Fuses & Fuseholder

Connectors

Circuit Breakers

Metal Line Switches

Switches

Frontpanel Switches

Printmount Switches

EMC Products

Data & Signal Connectors

Voltage Selectors

Indicators

Test Jacks & Probes

More and more often customers want to know what is in a component. SCHURTER has therefore adopted the Umbrella Specifications initiative of the German Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI – Zentralverband der deutschen Elektronikindustrie) and is providing Product Content Sheets.

A Product Content Sheet is being established for each product type, giving details of the materials contained in the component. It confirms that the product complies with all of the EU's current material regulations. To achieve this SCHURTER makes use of the official EICTA materials prohibition list, which defines the legal regulations as they relate to the electronics industry.

In addition, the Product Content Sheets declare whether a component is already CHINA-RoHS resp. RoHS 2002/95/EC-compliant.

Example of a Product Content Sheet :

These Product Content Sheets are available for download on our website.

Asbestos is a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals, and became popular in the industry due to its resistance to heat, electricity and chemical damage, its sound absorption and tensile strength. Asbestos was used mainly in brake shoes and gaskets, on electric oven and hotplate wiring, and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties.

Since the mid 1980s, many uses of asbestos are banned in many countries.

SCHURTER has never used asbestos in its products. SCHURTER’s product line is completely free of asbestos.

PFOS-related substances have in the past been used mainly as providing resistance to grease, oil and water for materials such as textiles, carpets, paper and in general coating, but current uses are now principally in such areas as chromium plating, photography, photolithography, fire fighting foams and hydraulic fluids for aviation.

SCHURTER confirms that none of its products contain PFOS. In addition, SCHURTER does not employ PFOS in materials, production processes, or packaging.

In 2008, the EU RoHS has been revised, and the exception for DecaBDE has been removed from the regulation.

DecaBDE (Decabromdiphenylether) is employed as flame retardant in plastic parts for electrical and electronic products. The substance degrades slowly in natural environment and may cumulate in animal life forms. There are indications that DecaBDE decomposes into the more toxic chemicals Penta- or Octabromdiphenylether. Marketing and use of these two chemicals are – based on their harmful effect – prohibited in the EU since 2004.

SCHURTER confirms that its plastic parts do not contain DecaBDE. SCHURTER do not use DecaBDE as flame retardant in its products.

Principal international information on the topic of lead-free:

Principal European information on the topic of lead-free:

IPC Roadmap: guide to lead-free electronics:

German Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI):

Umbrella Specifications:

List of current material prohibitions (EICTA):

Contact

For additiomal information related to environmental all protection as well as material restrictions and usage, please contact our Environment Protection and Safety Manager (rohs@schurter.ch) or your regional sales contact.