Controlling hazardous substances and other waste
COCIR*, the EU non-profit-making healthcare trade association, has signed a `Memorandum of Understanding´ (MoU) on environmental policy with ENVIRON*, an international consultancy that works with clients to assess and manage potential environmental, sustainability and health issues associated with their activities and products.
Building on previous initiatives on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directives, ENVIRON and COCIR are expanding their partnership to the Energy Using Products Directive (EuP) and the REACH and RoHS compliance. In particular, REACH substance declaration requirements are placing increasing pressure on the electronics supply chain to disclose information on hazardous substances.
COCIR and ENVIRON’s cooperation includes a new web application, BOMcheck, with the primary aim of enabling suppliers to comply with their REACH and RoHS obligations cost-effectively, by compiling a centralised master database of substance declarations from suppliers. The online declaration tool explains where the REACH Candidate List substances are commonly found in electrical and electronic equipment and highlight available alternatives.
In addition, a detailed Guide to REACH is available for component suppliers and equipment manufacturers, free-of-charge, from www.BOMcheck.net as well as www.cocir.org.
Siemens Healthcare, a COCIR member, is the first firm to join BOMcheck. ‘BOMcheck is an open initiative that will benefit not just the medical device industry but the whole electronics industry, by enabling suppliers to upload their substance declarations to one location for access by all participating manufacturers,’ explained Dr Freimut Schröder, Chair of COCIR Environmental Focus Group.
* COCIR represents the radiological, electromedical and healthcare IT industry in Europe.
21.11.2008
