WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
The WEEE Directive 2002/96/EC, was issued by the European Union in 2003 to minimize the impact of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment throughout their life cycle including when they become waste. It makes producers of WEEE responsible for financing the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of electrical and electronic equipment waste. Equipment includes, but is not limited to, information technology and telecommunications equipment, household appliances, lighting equipment, electrical and electronic tools, etc. European Union member countries are in the process of implementing measures to comply with this directive. More information, including the text of the official directive, is available on the internet at http://europa.eu.int under environmental activities and waste.

RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)
In conjunction with the WEEE directive, the European Union issued directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. In summary, this directive bans or in some situations limits the following toxic chemicals after the 1st of July 2003: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). More information, including the text of the official directive, is available on the internet at http://europa.eu.int under environmental activities and waste.

Existing and proposed regulations in the U.S.
Popularly known as California Proposition 65, California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 requires that the Governor revise and republish, at least once per year, the list of chemicals known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.

This list includes many chemicals including, but not limited to, lead, cadmium, haxavalent compounds of chromium, vinyl chloride, etc. More information, including the official California Proposition 65 chemicals list, is available on the internet at www.oehha.org/prop65.aspl.

Various regulations banning specific chemicals or requiring labeling now exist or are proposed in North Eastern states including Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont.

ISO 14000 Environmental Management Family of International Standards
ISO publishes ISO 14000, a family of standards for environmental management systems. ISO 14000 provides a system for good environmental practices. The ISO 14000 standards are available for purchase on the internet at www.iso.ch.

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