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RoHS compliance of galvanized finishes

Is Galvanealed and Galvanized RoHS compliant?

David Dezse
- Lewis Center, Ohio
2006

My understanding is that the organics on the RoHS list are not an issue with inorganic finishes, leaving only the metals cadmium, mercury, and lead, and the hexavalent form of chromium. Although you might need to check for the amount of contamination with cadmium, mercury, or lead, the only RoHS metal that I think is there by design is chromium, which is used to brighten galvanizing and deter white rusting. I think you need to specify that the galvanizing be free of hexavalent chromium and RoHS complaint

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

THE AMERICAN GALVANIZERS ASSOCIATION IS ON RECORD AS SAYING THAT HEX CHROME TREATED GALVANIZING IS RoHS COMPLIANT . I AM CONFUSED...IS IT OR ISN'T IT?

DAVID S WARE
- Chattanooga, Tennessee

? Can you give us a link where they say this for the record, David?

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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... and a few days go by and . . .

David copied us on a private letter from the AGA, as well as an AGA white paper and a European General Galvanizers Association (EGGA) white paper. Yes, AGA is apparently claiming that chromate quenched galvanizing is RoHS compliant and it looks like the European General Galvanizers Association asserts pretty much the same opinion. With the deadline less than 2 months away, we would hope that some official European Parliament tribunal would be issuing a non-ambiguous statement on this specific issue, but the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly on both sides of the Atlantic. It looks like billions of dollars may be wasted before they give an interpretation -- and then tell us it was impossible to read it any other way :-)

Meanwhile I don't know if anyone can afford to change if the major associations are telling your competitors that they don't need to invest the resources to change. It's a thorny one. -- Ted.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey