Substances & RoHS

Hazardous Substances & RoHS Directive

RoHS

MGE Office Protection Systems has consistently strived over many years to decrease environmental and health hazards due to UPS products and their use. These efforts start from eco-design to promote easy dismantling and recycling, particularly of batteries, design to power efficiency of products and end of life management.

Not all MGE Office Protection Systems products are subject to ROHS and WEEE directives ; in fact Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) have been confirmed not to be subject to these directives by a joint ORGALIME/CEMEP/GIMELEC March 2006 press release, based on a European commission FAQ document on WEEE directive.

This is based on the fact that UPS are not listed in any of the 10 categories of Annex 1 of directive 2002/96/EC on WEEE, and that UPS are very often used in conjunction with products of categories 3 (IT and Telecom), 6 Electrical and Electronic Tools (with the exception of large scale stationary tools), 8 (Medical devices), 9 (Monitoring and Control instruments).

Category 8, 9 are clearly excluded from RoHS because these products are highly critical, as UPS, for security and safety and because reliability of lead-free PCBA is still heavily questioned.
Category 3, 6 for the same reason benefit as an exemption for lead in solder
.
MGE Office Protection Systems uses industry standard RoHS components for all its private household products and single phased products, mostly sold through retailers.
In this sense, MGE Office Protection Systems products are “RoHS compliant�, as are the products of all main UPS producers.

MGE Office Protection Systems has developed lead free soldering technology and can offer products with this technology for customers who need it for specific reasons.

WEEE directives regulates the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment ; UPS are not in the scope of this directive. However MGE Office Protection Systems is highly conscious of its responsibilities and has developed solutions for its customers for disposal and recycling ot their equipment. All products which need a proper disposal are clearly labelled and a network of recycling partners is being finalised. Completion is expected end of 2006. All distributors will have a solution to dispose of their returned products. Details can be found on each MGE Office Protection Systems country website.

Substances

The use of certain substances in Electric and Electronic Equipement (EEE) may be a risk to human health and the environment.

Major objectives of product development include continuous improvements in quality, safety, and the reduction of environmental impact throughout product life cycle. A large number of construction, operational and processing materials are used in the manufacturing chain, and their selection and proper use can reduce environmental impacts.

The intent of the « MGE Office Protection Systems list of Banned and Restricted Substances » is to be the list for declaration of composition of MGE Office Protection Systems products components throughout the supply chain, from supplier production to the end of life phase.
This list covers only substances that are expected to be present in a MGE Office Protection Systems Product.

Related Links

RoHS Directive
CEMEP Position
Orgalime guide to the scope of WEEE and RoHS Directives
Gimélec and Domergie Guide for the implementation of the RoHS Directive
MGE Office Protection Systems list of restricted substances
Battery MSDS