Environment, Health & Safety

For the protection of our employees and the environment, Amphenol Ltd is committed to be compliant with all applicable environmental, health and safety regulations.

We want our commitment towards environmental, health and safety issues to run through our entire organisation.

  • We provide all of our employees with relevant training courses, so they can make decision and take action in accordance to our environmental and safety policies.
  • We communicate openly with our employees, partners, local authorities, and other interested parties regarding environmental and safety issues.

For questions regarding Amphenol Ltd’s  Environmental actions and Compliance, please contact our Health & Safety Team.

HEALTH & SAFETY

 

 

Amphenol Ltd provide its employees and visitors safe and secure working facilities. Safety and loss prevention is our priority.

  • Our objective is to promote safety : By providing to our employees safety training courses such as Fire, Electric authorization, and First-aid.
  • By implementing risk preventive actions identified through risk analyses.
  • By integrating safety into the processes.

RoHS & REACH

RoHS -  the UK’s Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2012, as amended -  require that the homogeneous materials within new electrical and electronic equipment must contain less than 0.1% by weight of lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), and less than 0.01% Cadmium. 

A list of exemptions allowing higher levels of the above substances in specific items is given in Schedule A2 of The Hazardous Substances and Packaging (Legislative Functions and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. Some additional, broader exemptions, for example equipment intended for Military purposes, are also permitted in Schedule 1 Part 2 of the UK 2012 Regulations.

Amphenol Limited Statement - Although most of Amphenol Limited's products are outside the scope of the UK ROHS Regulations, either because they are components, or as they are specifically manufactured for use in the Military or Aerospace sectors, Amphenol Limited is still committed to reducing or eliminating hazardous substances, using substitutes as and when they become available to the industry.

Lead - The use of lead is subject to ongoing investigation by Amphenol Limited across its present product ranges. Aluminium and copper alloys containing lead are typically covered by ROHS exemptions 17 and 18  (ie EU ROHS exemptions 6b-II and 6c).

Many customers in the Aerospace, Military and Transport sectors have requested that Amphenol Limited continue to use 'Leaded Solder' for their specific applications and wherever possible, Amphenol Limited will accommodate the requests.

Cadmium - Cadmium plated parts are not RoHS compliant. Alternative plating finishes to Cadmium are available from Amphenol Limited, typical products being Black Zinc Nickel, Zinc Cobalt, Nickel, Stainless Steel and Nickel Aluminium Bronze.

Hexavalent Chromium - Following tests in accordance with IEC 62321:2008, Amphenol Limited can confirm that its Black Zinc Nickel plating and its Zinc Cobalt plating (green, black, yellow and clear) are RoHS compliant.

Mercury, PBDE, PBB, DEHP, BBP, DBP, DIBP – The homogeneous materials within the products manufactured and sold by Amphenol Limited do not contain these substances in levels exceeding 0.1%.

For further information relating to RoHS, please email [email protected]

Last revised January 2021

 

The REACH Regulation

 

 

 

 

REACH is aimed at improving the protection of human health and the environment through better and earlier identification of the properties of chemical substances as well as progressive substitution of the most dangerous chemicals when suitable alternatives have been identified.

 

REACH regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 is legislation on chemicals and their safe use, and came into force in June 2007. REACH is aimed at improving the protection of human health and the environment through better and earlier identification of the properties of chemical substances as well as progressive substitution of the most dangerous chemicals when suitable alternatives have been identified.

Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs)

Under REACH, the most hazardous substances on the market are gradually being added to a list known as the 'Candidate List', with the view of ensuring their use is correctly controlled, and that safer alternatives are found as soon as possible. The substances on this list are termed 'Substances of Very High Concern' (SVHCs). Cadmium was added to the Candidate List, and hence became a SVHC, on 20/06/2013, and lead was added on 27/06/2018.

Article 33 of REACH

Article 33 requires that any supplier of an article in the UK REACH containing SVHCs above the threshold of 0.1% weight by weight must provide sufficient information to the customer to allow safe use of the article.

The relevance of SVHCs to Amphenol Ltd's products

Lead is present above 0.1% in many of the copper alloys, and some aluminium alloys, used in Amphenol Ltd products; leaded solder is used on certain ranges.

Cadmium is used as a plating finish on some of Amphenol Ltd’s products, and a small number of products contain cadmium pigment in rubber seals.


Resources

Safe use information for products containing Lead.

Safe use information for cadmium plated products.

Amphenol Ltd’s general REACH statement.

REACH Authorisation for continued use of hexavalent chromium passivates.