UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global safety science leader, announced today it has expanded its Plastics Certification Program to include optional EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and non-halogenated ratings.
The RoHS Compliant Certification rating offers a set of certification guidelines based on the new UL 746R Outline of Investigation for Restricted Use Substances In Polymeric Materials and EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive law (2002/95/EC and 2011/65/EU), to ensure plastics are below the legal limits for the following six substances: lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).
The Non-halogenated Certification rating for Plastics program tests and certifies materials meet the new UL 746H Outline of Investigation for Non-halogenated Materials. This outline is based on globally recognized requirements from the IEC 61249 Series and evaluates materials to two different rating schemes:
Non-halogenated - evaluates materials with respect to fluorine, chlorine, and bromine content
Non-chlorine & non-bromine - evaluates materials with respect to chlorine and bromine content
These two optional ratings for the plastics yellow card are designed to provide an easy means for specifiers and other purchasers to find plastics that meet RoHS or non-halogen requirements. It also helps to eliminate repetitive lot testing and repeated certificate of compliance letters, freeing up valuable time for both suppliers and users. Both ratings use industry leading test methods based on globally recognized standards, and enable the ability to communicate compliance clearly and credibly from UL's trusted and industry leading databases (iQTM and Prospector®).
"Our goal is to help the plastics supply chain by providing a simple and quick way to validate RoHS compliant or non-halogenated plastics," said Todd Denison, VP and GM of Performance Materials, "We believe this will help manufacturers reduce testing and allow users to easily validate ratings on UL's certification databases."
For decades, UL has played an important role in the development of requirements for plastics that enable end-users to preselect certified materials that comply with safety standards. These new RoHS compliant and non-halogenated ratings build on this history to serve the evolving needs of industry.
