Demonstrating its commitment to support customers working to comply with pending environmental legislation by using RoHS-Compatible(1) or Lead(Pb)-Free(2) components, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)* announced a new website, www.rohs.toshiba.com, to provide a broad range of information on the company’s support for these environmental initiatives and information on how to obtain certificates on RoHS-controlled substances for Toshiba semiconductors.
Current environmental initiatives facing electronics manufacturers include requirements under a variety of regulations and proposed regulations from various jurisdictions around the world that will regulate or restrict the use of lead(Pb) and other substances, or impose additional requirements when these substances are used in products. The European Union’s RoHS Directive(3) provides that the use of lead(Pb) and certain other substances must be regulated by July 1, 2006. In the United States, a majority of the individual states have also proposed or adopted legislation that will regulate or restrict the use of lead(Pb) or impose additional requirements for products that contain lead.
TAEC’s new website answers frequently asked questions about RoHS- Compatible and Lead(Pb)-Free semiconductors. A web-based form enables customers to request a certificate on RoHS-controlled substances for semiconductors from Toshiba Semiconductor Company or ask other related questions on Toshiba RoHS-Compatible electronic components. The latest version of TAEC’s white paper, “Transitioning to Lead-Free Manufacturing with Toshiba Semiconductor Products” is also posted on the web page. This paper, authored by TAEC’s Quality Assurance and Lead -Free Implementation Team, provides technical details on Toshiba’s Lead -Free products, transition schedule, inventory management procedures and other related information. Additional reference material on the website includes related definitions, distributor’s support for RoHS-Compatible products, ISO 14001 Certification status, and a series of related articles and announcements from TAEC on Lead -Free products. For customers interested in checking specific package types to confirm that Lead-Free versions are available, reference charts for Toshiba Semiconductor Company’s memory, discrete semiconductor and System LSI business units are provided.
“TAEC, and our parent company Toshiba Corp., have been making solutions available since 2003 to enable our customers to comply with pending Lead(Pb)- Free legislation by implementing new manufacturing procedures using new materials,” said Stephen Marlow, executive vice president for TAEC. “For the convenience of our customers, we have now consolidated a wide range of information on our support for this environmental initiative on this new web page.”
