Reducing Risk by Reducing Hazard – Use of Chemical Hazard Screening as the First Step in the Assessment Process

With the introduction of materials specific legislation, such as RoHS in 2003, the pace of change of materials in the electronics industry has seen a dramatic increase. Changing materials is costly, and an important business need is the development of a process to select alternatives that will not need to be substituted in the future. To guard against multiple substitutions, the alternatives selected need to have lower impacts on human health and the environment. According to the principles of green chemistry the most efficient way to reduce overall risk is to use less hazardous materials in product design. To guard against regrettable substitution, and future restriction, an alternatives assessment process including chemical hazard assessment as the first step in the process is described. Example applications of the alternatives assessment process are introduced.