In 2003, the European Parliament passed the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
directives to encourage the reuse, recycling, and recovery of WEEE and to improve the
environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of electrical
and electronic equipment, especially those dealing with WEEE.
The WEEE regulations apply to all electrical and electronic equipment placed on the European
Union market that falls into any of ten (10) categories, unless the equipment is part
of another type of equipment, which does not fall into any of these categories.
Most of Masterclock's® products are considered Category 9, Monitoring and Control Instruments.
In 2004, the European Parliament and Council passed the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive to "protect human health and the environment by restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in new equipment". The RoHS directive covers the same scope of electrical and electronic equipment that are under the WEEE directive, except that Category 8, Medical Devices, and Category 9, Monitoring and Control Instruments, which are under WEEE, are excluded from the RoHS directive.
The following product categories of Masterclock's® Products fall under Category 9,
which is currently outside of the RoHS directive's scope:
GPS and Time Code Instrumentation
Time and Frequency Distribution
Precise Frequency References
Bus Level Timing (PCI cards)
Time Displays
Masterclock® currently has an active effort underway to address the RoHS directive.
In some cases this will involve redesign of products with lead free components,
in others it is a matter of substituting lead free components in existing designs.
For more information on our RoHS program, please contact us at support@masterclock.com
RoHS is the acronym used to refer to the European Union (EU) Directive 2002/95/EC on the Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
There are six (6) RoHS substances: lead (Pb); cadmium (Cd); mercury (Hg); hexavalent chromium (Cr+6); polybrominated biphenyls (PBB); and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE).
Yes, however other countries are drafting RoHS-type legislation and Masterclock® anticipates similar regulations may eventually be adopted worldwide.
Yes. Most electrical and electronic products have used tin/lead solder technology, and many Masterclock® products will continue to use lead-based solders under the exemption allowed under RoHS for Monitoring and Control Instruments equipment.
Yes. Many divisions of the US Military specifically require that we certify that hardware that they purchase is manufactured with traditional lead solders. Until the questions of solder reliability have been resolved to the Military's satisfaction Masterclock® will continue to produce two versions of some of its products.
Compliant product will be traceable by that product's serial number.
What is Masterclock's® position on the use of lead in products?
Lead has been used widely in the electronics industry, both in electronic and electrical components and also in lead-based solder. The RoHS Directive requires that the use of lead is to be phased out by the electronic industry and is to be substituted with alternative materials. Some lead-free components have already been integrated into Masterclock® products, but reliable alternatives to lead-based solders, in particular, have proven difficult to find. The EU has recognized this issue and the RoHS Directive has included exemptions for a number of product categories. Masterclock® will exercise the Monitoring and Control Instruments exemption until lead-free alternatives are identified that meet the performance requirements of its products.
Masterclock's® service offerings will comply with the RoHS Directive, including the use of exemptions that specifically apply to the use of non-RoHS compliant materials or parts for repair or replacement, and reuse of equipment put on the market before July 1, 2006. Masterclock® will continue to service non-RoHS compliant equipment and there will be no changes to existing Masterclock® service agreements.
