"Federal Rohs Legislation Is Imperative", Warns Newark, As Eu Law Takes Hold
CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
On the heels of the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive which took effect July 1, Newark, a subsidiary of global distributor Premier Farnell plc and the leading small-quantity distributor of RoHS compliant electronic components, information and services in the Americas, has issued a warning about the need for a comparable US law. The complete text can be viewed at www.newarkinone.com/fedlaw/
With no national RoHS-style legislation yet proposed, California has enacted its own RoHS rule, SB20/SB50, which takes effect January 1. While not as comprehensive as the EU's RoHS, its scope is expected to expand. State rules aimed at restricting mercury have been enacted in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Paul Tallentire, president, Newark warns that this sets a dangerous precedent. "Increasing and varying state-by-state rules are already causing unnecessary complexity for electronic manufacturers and distributors who must try to track and meet them all. Are we going to wait until we have 50 state laws with 50 flavors, before we enact a uniform national standard for our industry?"
Tallentire cites global competition as another imperative. "Both China and South Korea have already proposed RoHS-style regulations to ensure that their own manufacturers can continue to export electronic goods to the EU and the rest of the world. Are the stakes any less for US manufacturers?"
Newark is conducting a poll on this issue at www.newark.ca/rohs, and will make the results available in November. This site also provides critical information to help companies transition to RoHS compliance, including: the latest news, on-demand lead-free soldering webinars, downloadable step-by-step guides to compliance and updates on US and Canadian green laws.
About Newark
Newark, a subsidiary of global distributor Premier Farnell Ltd, is North America's leading small-quantity distributor of electronic components and test equipment, and its #1 source for RoHS compliant parts and information. RoHS is the acronym for the European Union's Restrictions of certain Hazardous Substances directive, which took effect July 1, 2006.
Visited by thousands of engineers and electronics buyers each week, Newark's RoHS Express site at www.element14.com/community/community/legislation provides critical information to help companies transition to compliance, including: the latest news, on-demand lead-free soldering webinars, downloadable step-by-step guides to compliance and updates on US and Canadian green laws.
In addition to offering the broadest electronics selection from 440+ top manufacturers for same-day shipping, Newark provides a unique range of value-added services at no charge, including, RoHS Bill of Materials updates, eProcurement implementation and support, and automatic re-reeling for components.
With multiple sales channels, customers do business with Newark through contact centers, a local branch network in the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, a dedicated field sales force and a world-class website at www.Newark.com. The holder of a General Services Administration schedule (#GS-06F-0044M,) Newark also supports federal government customers through a dedicated website, www.teamgov.com, and a specially trained team of representatives.
Newark's parent company, Premier Farnell Ltd, is a leading global marketer and distributor of electronic, maintenance repair and operations (MRO) and specialist products and services, trading in more than 100 countries with a database of 2 million customer contacts. For general information, visit www.Newark.com and www.premierfarnell.com. Also, you can reach Newark's media contact, Janice Fleisher, at 773.907.5941 and at jfleisher@Newarkinone.com.
© Copyright 2007. Newark is a service mark of Premier Farnell Corp. All other trademarks, product or service names displayed in this release, registered or unregistered, constitute the intellectual property of their respective holders.