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U.S. Chrome meets environmental regulations for both finishing and plating because we are RoHS compliant and Reach compliant. If you find yourself asking, what does that mean? Allow us to explain.
RoHS is an acronym for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. RoHS impacts the entire electronics industry and many electrical products as well. RoHS compliance is important because the restricted materials are hazardous to the environment and pollute landfills. RoHS compliance means that we pride ourselves in being fully invested in delivering high quality products and services while being environmentally friendly.
REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals. The sole purpose of REACH is to address the population and use of chemical substances, as well as their potential impacts on both human health and the surrounding environment. Some chemicals of “high concern” include carcinogens, mutagens, reproduction toxins, persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic chemicals.
The main difference between RoHS compliant and REACH compliant is that RoHS bans substances that are present in electrical equipment within the directive, whereas REACH pertains to all chemicals, including those used to make certain products.
U.S. Chrome is dedicated to serving you by providing you with finishing and plating solutions that meet environmental regulations, including RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive, EU Directive 2011/65/EC, and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals, European Union Regulation (EC) 1907/2006). We are providing you the following information to assist you in meeting your environmental policies and procedures.
The finishing and plating services provided by U.S. Chrome contain hazardous materials below the threshold in RoHS and REACH legislations. These services include the following coating applications:
Although the environmental regulations change constantly, we will attempt to keep you informed of changes that affect you, as those regulations are made known to us.
U.S. Chrome provides electroplating that is RoHS compliant. This plating meets the latest environmental regulations known as the European Directive 2011/65/EC and 2003/11/EC, which was issued January 27th 2003. Although we cannot comment on the compliance of the components provided to us for plating, we can assure your company that our plating finishes comply with RoHS. As noted in the table below, our plating finishes do not contain any of the known, banned substances specifically referenced by RoHS.
Below you with find each of these substances categorized by name, with the corresponding percentages by weight in each deposit we plate.
Material: | Present? | % by weight |
Lead (Pb) | N/A | < 0.1% |
Mercury (Hg) | N/A | 0 |
Cadmium (Cd) | N/A | 0 |
Hexavalent Chromium (Cr VI) | N/A | 0 |
Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB) | N/A | 0 |
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) | N/A | 0 |
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) | N/A | 0 |
Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) | N/A | 0 |
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) | N/A | 0 |
Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) | N/A | 0 |
U.S. Chrome ensures continued compliance with RoHS by strictly controlling the materials and finishes that we use in our process chemistries.
In June 2007, the European Union Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) entered into force. The regulation establishes specific duties and obligations on companies in the European Union (EU) that manufacture or import substances on their own, in preparations, or in articles.
REACH Articles 6 and 7 Registration and Notification: We do not manufacture or supply “substances” or “preparations” and our processes do not involve the “intentional release of substances.” Moreover, we do not perform any plating operations outside of the continental United States. Accordingly, we foresee no registration or pre-registration requirement for the plating we supply to you.
REACH Article 33(1) Information Obligation: Article 33(1) requires suppliers to inform recipients if an article contains more than 0.1% (by weight per article) of any substance(s) on the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) Candidate List. Although U.S Chrome’s surface treatment processes use a wide variety of substances, some of which have been classified as SVHCs, these substances are not present on the finished component in a concentration above 0.1% on a weight for weight basis.
U.S. Chrome also continues to monitor those substances used in our finishes to compare those substances against SVHC Candidate List. This will be an on-going process as the European Union updates the list to include additional SVHCs. Customers are encouraged to visit the following site to get the most up to date information on the most current list of SVHCs: Candidate List Table
We take our commitments to our customers and our environment seriously and will always strive to communicate any concerns that we have with new and proposed regulations, whether here in the United States or throughout the world.
Thank you for your continued business. For further information or clarification, feel free to contact us.
We’re confident US Chrome will be your best option for your hard chrome plating applications because of our engineering approach, exceptional customer service, and regional locations. Contact us now with your questions or coating challenges.
We’ll help you find the right answer.
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US Chrome has been helping engineers find solutions to surface coating challenges for more than 80 years.
