Several weeks ago I had a blog entry asking whether or not Microsoft's new Xbox 360 was RoHS compliant. Angela pointed me to a link where Xbox lead mechanical engineer Jeff Reents is interviewed. The following is an excerpt from the interview Re RoHS. I have to admit, I am impressed.
Cheers,
Dr. Ron
Xbox.com: What's the story on environmental standards? Is Xbox 360 "greener" than Xbox?
JR: Definitely. Xbox 360 had to meet the Lead Free requirements and be RoHS compliant.
Xbox.com: I'm thinking that probably has nothing to do with the Rodents of Unusual Size from The Princess Bride.
JR: Uh, no. RoHS is "Restriction of Hazardous Substances." It's legislation enacted by the European Union in 2002 that says all new electronic devices need to meet the standards by July 1, 2006. It's meant to make manufacturers more environmentally cognizant on a global level.
Xbox.com: Sounds good, but what specifically did that legislation mean for Xbox 360? What kind of compliance criteria did you have to deal with?
JR: It means that Xbox 360 can't contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) or meet the limits established by ROHS. So, the motherboard and all the solder in the Xbox 360 had to be lead-free.