RoHS: Getting the PBBs and PBDEs Out of PCs

"Toshiba's recent announcement that it had launched the "world's first RoHS compliant PC" made headlines in much of the environmental media. In reality, it's both big news . . . and not. The big news is that a major shift is taking place in the electronics industry in response to the European Union's Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, more formally known as "Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment." That mouthful of a regulation requires literally hundreds of thousands of products currently produced and marketed by semiconductor and other electronics manufacturers to restrict the use of six substances -- cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) -- in their products. Companies not in compliance by July 1, 2006 will not be able to sell into EU countries. (WorldChanging noted the coming of RoHS at the beginning of the year.)" Source: worldchanginjg.com