February 2021 Quarterly Update
PCDC Tool Shows Practical Benefits to Users
We are thrilled at the feedback we are getting from early users of the Process Chemicals Data Collection Tool. We have heard that the tool speeds up data collection and streamlines communication among facilities and customers. The PCDC Tool was created to provide a common and unified format for collecting information across the electronics supply chain, and the information collected will contribute to protecting workers from exposure to harmful chemicals.
TCO Development, which administers the TCO Certified program, told us it used the tool to make its recently launched accepted substances list a reality.
“The structure and guidance that the PCDC Tool provides allowed me to gather relevant and important information quickly, since it required very little in the way of time-consuming follow-up to verify the responses,” said Stephen Fuller, senior criteria manager at TCO Development.
We also are pleased to announce that we now have a set of short instructional videos with Chinese subtitles, adding to the existing instructional videos and guidance documents in English, Spanish and Chinese. We welcome users’ feedback and suggestions on the PCDC Tool at cepn@greenamerica.org.
Network Members on the Move
CEPN sends the fondest wishes for a happy retirement to founding member Dr. Kenneth Geiser as he steps down from the Network and design team to enjoy his retirement on his Maine farm.
His contributions forged both the Network’s mission and its identity, guiding the team with a lifetime of expertise in the science, unshakable perseverance for the purpose of safer chemistry and a demeanor that welcomes and respects all the perspectives it takes to address a complex global problem.
“We are grateful for the expertise, gravitas and statesmanship Ken brought to this work,” said Alisa Gravitz, Green America’s president and CEO. “His contribution will be forever woven into all that we accomplish.”
Geiser, a professor emeritus and past distinguished university fellow at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he taught policy courses in the Department of Work Environment and held numerous university leadership positions. As a recognized expert on environmental and occupational health policy, he has served on advisory committees for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the United Nations Environment Programme, serving as one of the primary authors of the UNEP’s Global Chemicals Outlook.
And we welcome Dr. Chad Raphael as the newest member of CEPN and its Design Team. Raphael is a professor of communications at Santa Clara University, where he is a scholar of political and environmental communication and coordinates the university’s Environmental Justice and the Common Good Initiative. Raphael has chaired boards of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, and a task force on greening the International Communication Association.
CEPN is also delighted to announce that Seagate Technologies will join our Design Team, represented by Girard Goder, Global Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Manager and Balan Shanmuganathan, Senior Director of Sustainability. Seagate has been a valuable and active member of the Network since its earliest days, contributing the valuable perspective of a supplier to electronics brands while generously sharing useful input on our activities and volunteering extra time and energy on Network activities.
CEPN Priority Chemicals Included in Pharos Database, Expanding Access to More Users
CEPN’s nine first-round priority chemicals have recently been included as a restricted substance list in the Pharos database, offering broad access to this information on toxic solvents used in manufacturing cleaning products. Pharos is a material library which catalogs chemicals and building materials, providing hazard, use, and exposure information for more than 160,000 chemicals across industries.
IPC-1402, Standard for Green Cleaners used in Electronics Manufacturing
The global association for electronics manufacturing, IPC, has committed to developing an industry standard for green cleaners in electronics manufacturing, giving companies another tool to keep workers safe. Cleaners represent the process chemicals having the biggest human and environmental impact because these chemicals are used in large volumes and workers can come into frequent direct contact with cleaners by the nature of the work. CEPN is excited to participate in developing this new standard, offering the electronics manufacturing industry more tools to use to keep workers safe and healthy.