PLAIT is currently in pursuit of ensuring that all its products that fall within the regulated scope of RoHS become compliant. At this moment, some of PLAIT’s products are already compliant. PLAIT is vehemently working on manufacturing processes to ensure that all non-exempt products become completely RoHS-compliant as soon as possible. We will continue to update our website and documentation as they become finalized.

 

First and foremost, it is necessary to note that as of today, there is very little, if any, federal legislation similar to RoHS in the United States. RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substance) is a European directive restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. 

This European Union (EU) directive will be enforced on new electrical and electronic equipment, containing the more than agreed upon levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium,polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants sold within the European Union (EU).

 

Who’s affected?

Those affected by RoHS include:

 

Manufacturers and resellers of electrical and electronic equipment that sell under their own brand in the European Union (EU).

Importers or exporters in the European Union (EU) of electrical and electronic equipment

If you are selling products, in the European Union (EU) your products must be RoHS compliant by July 1, 2006.
 

 

Europe is the main drive behind implementation of RoHS restrictions.

In Japan, OEM’s are moving toward lead-free manufacturing due to market pressures.

The United States, no published federal position at this time. EPA continues to pressure lead users.

China is drafting a proposal of regulations that ban RoHS substances, as of January 1, 2006.

Benefits of RoHS 

The extraction and disposal of hazardous raw materials can cause damage to both the environment and to human health. Occupational exposure to certain levels of lead and other hazardous substances as defined above can create health issues. The removal and or reduction of these types of materials, especially at the production level will help reduce health risks associated with exposure, especially for children, the elderly and pregnant women.

 

Third Party Verification

 

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) 

   What makes PLAITproducts consistently rated higher in performance and overall value by industry installers? It's PLAIT's stringent quality control procedures that assure that PLAIT products have been inspected and/or tested to comply with strict FCC, TIA/EIA, and UL standards. In today's marketplace, there are many different manufactures offering structured cabling products, but not all of them have their products tested and verified by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) or by independent testing companies.

PLAIT has pushed the limits to have their products UL certified to provide high quality and reliable structured cabling products. UL certificates of PLAIT's structured cabling products can be found at the UL website at www.ul.com. Search forPLAIT under the Online Certifications Directory.

 

UL is an independent, not-for-profit product-safety testing and certification organization. They offer a, "Performance Verification Services," program for performance Category 2, 3, 4, 5, 5E or 6, TIA/EIA 568B.2-1, ISO/IEC 11801 performance categories, Optical Fiber Cable Performance Verification, field testers, and much more. UL also provides CAT 6 permanent link and channel performance testing. This service is specifically geared towards system designers, installers, contractors and end-users. UL performs field measurements in accordance to TIA/EIA 568B2. Upon successful completion of the testing UL issues a written report. In addition, UL performs permanent link and channel testing in their performance verification LAN laboratory in accordance to the requirements in TIA/EIA 568B2 and Category 6 draft specifications or other performance standards. 

Not only has PLAIT products gone through UL certification, but PLAIT took greater steps and had their system solutions go through, "Third Party Verification." PLAIT chose National Technical Systems (NTS), the largest independent testing company in the nation, to test and verify their Category 5e and Category 6 products, system solutions, and issued a verification certificate of conformance upon successful completion of both initial and final testing and verification.

 

NTS is the largest independent testing company in the nation, and offers a complete spectrum of testing capabilities for any industry needing product evaluation and certification. NTS is accredited by numerous national and international technical bodies such as American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), the National voluntary Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and the European Union (EU) . They have comprehensive engineering and testing laboratories with a focus on Aerospace, Nuclear, Defense, and Commercial hardware.  

 

NTS, which performed verification for PLAIT, issued a verification report and certificate of conformance performed on CAT 5e and CAT 6 products and solutions. More information can be found at the NTS website at www.ntscorp.com.