Development of plastic certified reference materials (CRMs) to cope with restrictions on hazardous substances

— CRMs for analysis of heavy metals and brominated flame retardants regulated by RoHS directive —

Abstract

The RoHS directive had a significant impact on Japanese industry. Complying with this directive requires evaluating the raw materials, especially plastics, that are used in electrical and electronic equipment. However, few plastic reference materials (RMs) were appropriate for evaluation. In response to industry requests, we undertook rapid development of plastic RMs. First, we considered the development of RMs that were needed. To assign property values to candidate RMs, methods important for the homogeneity evaluation, digestion and determination were developed by various trials and errors. We aimed to register our calibration and measurement capabilities to the key comparison database in order to make our CRMs acceptable worldwide. In this paper we introduce our activities up until now including the distribution of CRMs inside and outside Japan.