RoHS/REACH Questions Answered by TÜV Rheinland Experts, Part 1

What are documentation and process requirements for internal testing program of samples using XRF?

Buying a hand-held or benchtop XRay Fluorescent Spectrometer? Don’t forget, you are subject to IEC 62321, which is widely recognized around the world for RoHS. IEC 62321 will let you know what a homogeneous material is, how to get to a homogeneous material, and what methods can be used to test. It will also give you discrepancies—for example: If there’s a high tin content in an alloy, it might give you a false pretense of Cadmium in the sample. Another example would be for flame retardants. The test might come up hot for Bromine, but you won’t know if it’s the banned bromines or not. It will ID PVCs, or detect that there are some banned phthalates in there. As a screening tool, it’s very effective. 

To make sure your internal program is successful, you’ll need to remember a few things:

• Make sure your documentation is always correct
• Make sure calibrations are correct
• Make sure the people using the equipment are knowledgeable and have been trained in how to use and how to foresee if something is going to be in non-compliance or not.

Please visit our website for more information on REACH compliance.

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