2.14Environmental protection
Seagate designs its products to meet environmental protection requirements worldwide, including regulations restricting certain chemical substances.
European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
The European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive restricts the presence of chemical substances, including Lead (Pb), in electronic products effective July 2006. Although amendments to the Euro- pean Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive have not been finalized, to the best of our knowledge the disc drives documented in this publication will comply with the final RoHS Directive require- ments.
A number of parts and materials in Seagate products are procured from external suppliers. We rely on the rep- resentations of our suppliers regarding the presence of RoHS substances in these parts and materials. Our supplier contracts require compliance with our chemical substance restrictions, and our suppliers document their compliance with our requirements by providing material content declarations for all parts and materials for the disc drives documented in this publication. Current supplier declarations include disclosure of the inclusion of any
Seagate also has internal systems in place to ensure ongoing compliance with the RoHS Directive and all laws and regulations which restrict chemical content in electronic products. These systems include standard operat- ing procedures that ensure that restricted substances are not utilized in our manufacturing operations, labora- tory analytical validation testing, and an internal auditing process to ensure that all standard operating procedures are complied with.
2.15Corrosive environment
Seagate electronic drive components pass accelerated corrosion testing equivalent to 10 years exposure to light industrial environments containing sulfurous gases, chlorine and nitric oxide, classes G and H per ASTM B845. However, this accelerated testing cannot duplicate every potential application environment. Users should use caution exposing any electronic components to uncontrolled chemical pollutants and corrosive chemicals as electronic drive component reliability can be affected by the installation environment. The silver, copper, nickel and gold films used in Seagate products are especially sensitive to the presence of sulfide, chlo- ride, and nitrate contaminants. Sulfur is found to be the most damaging. In addition, electronic components should never be exposed to condensing water on the surface of the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) or exposed to an ambient relative humidity greater than 95%. Materials used in cabinet fabrication, such as vulca- nized rubber, that can outgas corrosive compounds should be minimized or eliminated. The useful life of any electronic equipment may be extended by replacing materials near circuitry with
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