Chemical Management
RoHS*2-Compliant Products
Europe enacted the RoHS2 Directive, which restricts the use of certain hazardous substances
in electrical and electronic equipment in order to prevent adverse effects on people and the
environment during the recycling and disposal of such equipment. A total of 10 substances
namely, cadmium, mercury, lead, hexavalent chromium, PBB (polybrominated biphenyls), PBDE
(polybrominated diphenyl ethers), the 4 Phthalate ester substances namely DEHP (bis-2-ethylhexyl
phthalate), BBP (benzyl butyl phthalate), DBP (dibutyl phthalate), and DIBP (diisobutyl phthalate))
have been specified as specific harmful substances. In line with this, we are working towards the
total abolition of these 10 substances.
We have also established “RoHS Regulation Management Provisions” to be included in our
Environmental in-house guidelines to monitor and confirm the progress towards RoHS2
compliancy.
* RoHS: Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment
RoHS2-compliant products (partial)
The Management of PRTR Designated Chemical Substances
In accordance with the PRTR Act*¹, we carefully monitor the types of notifiable chemical
substances that are discharged and the amount handled, and aggregate the totals each month.
In FY2022, the total volume handled by the three sites was 21.8 tons, a reduction of 29.9% from
the previous year. We will continue to promote the reduction of emissions by replacing target
substances and parts.
Of the target substances, the following three substances were notifiable substances under
the PRTR Act and had a handling volume of 1 ton or more. We notified and reported these
substances to the local government.
| Substances subject to PRTR | FY2022 handling amount (t) |
|---|---|
| Xylene | 9.4 |
| Toluene | 6.4 |
| Ethylbenzene | 5.4 |
With regard to the reduction of VOC*², in FY2022, we continued to build and promote a system for proper ordering of organic paints and thinners (diversion through high repeatability bespoke paint inventory management) and proper use (reduction in the number of paint color changes, reuse of thinners for cleaning).
*¹ PRTR Act: "Act on the Assessment of Releases of Specified Chemical Substances in the Environment and the Promotion of Management Improvement". A law that requires companies to monitor and control the amount of harmful chemicals that are emitted and transferred.
*² VOC: Volatile Organic Compounds
