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Regulatory Issues that Could Impact your Library
As the heart of information dissemination in the community, your library will want to ensure that the products used in your facility meet all safety and performance requirements that protect you and your patrons, as well as do your part as a good citizen to ensure a better environment tomorrow than today.
The efforts of various independent regulatory agencies outline stringent guidelines for products sold into libraries and other industries. With 3M, you have peace of mind in knowing that we've taken the time and put forth the effort and expense to assure compliance with these ever-changing global regulatory and customer environmental, health and safety (EHS) requirements.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The FCC is an independent United Statement government agency directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. possessions.
Underwriters Laboratory (UL)
The UL is a not-for-profit product safety entity that conducts testing and certification. It has earned the reputation as the U.S. leader in product safety testing and certification and works with companies to ensure conformity to global standards for electrical devices, programmable systems and quality processes.
So, what do cellphones and library equipment have in common?
Since they are both electrical/electronic devices, they must be recycled in a certain special way that will not cause harm to the environment. They're governed by RoHS and WEEE Directives that regulate only equipment in the European Union at the moment, but these directives are being adopted in the U.S. on a state-by-state basis so you'll want to stay abreast of new developments.
Restriction on the Use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
RoHS is the European Union (EU) Directive that restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, including that sold to the library market. This Directive bans the placing in the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. The regulations were fully implemented July 1, 2006. 3M provides written certification of compliance on all products that comply with the EU Directive.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
The WEEE directive primarily focuses on reducing the amount of electrical and electronic equipment that enters landfill at the end of its useful life by encouraging reuse, recycling and separate collection. Whereas the WEEE directive addresses the disposal of this equipment, the RoHS directive addresses the equipment at its source.
What does this mean for libraries?
Your library will need to become more involved in understanding local, state and federal laws regarding the issue of disposal, etc. Each state will have different requirements, and you'll need to understand what your state's requirements are for the equipment you purchase so you can comply with them. You should also be able to inform your patrons of the local laws regarding household disposal of electronic products.
3M's Commitment to Environmental Protection
The 3M Library Systems RoHS team accomplished the daunting task of reformulating our product portfolio to comply with the new EU environmental directive. This not only included changing manufacturing methods and machinery to a compliant process but required the team to research, find and even redesign or replace each individual part down to the screws used in the product in some cases! The final RoHS compliant product line required the team to study and eliminate six hazardous substances, including lead, from the assembly processes and product bills of materials which covered over 20 model numbers and 6,000 parts. We also now provide an auditable document system on the RoHS compliance documents which were accumulated. Visit the RoHS Compliance section of our website for compliance information on specific products.
Ask questions before you buy! Make sure that the products you're purchasing for your library meet all safety, performance and environmental requirements outlined by the agencies that regulate them!
For more information on regulatory issues, contact Phyllis Cheatum, 3M Regulatory Affairs Specialist, at 651-736-7362 or ppcheatum@mmm.com.
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