Barracuda 7200.7 Serial ATA Product Manual, Rev. N 17
2.14 Environmental protection
Seagate designs its products to meet environmental protection requirem ents worldwide, in cluding re gulations
restricting certain chemical substances.
European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
The European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive r estricts the presence of chemical
substances, including Lead (Pb), in electronic products e ffective July 2006. Although amendments to the
Euro-pean Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive ha ve not bee n finalized, to the best
of our knowledge the disc drives documented in this publication will comply with the fi nal 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 subs tances in these parts and materials. Our
supplier contracts require compliance with our chemical su bstance restrictions, and our supp liers document
their compliance with our requirements by providing material con tent declarations for all parts and materials for
the disc drives documented in this publication. Current supplier declarations include disclosure of the inclusio n
of any RoHS-regulated substance in such parts or materials.
Seagate also has internal systems in place to ensure ongoing complia nce with the RoHS Directive and all laws
and regulations which restrict chemical content in electroni c products. These systems include standard
operat-ing procedures that ensure that restricted substances are not utilized in our manufactu ring operations,
labora-tory analytical validation testing, and an inter nal auditing process to e nsure that all standard operatin g
procedures are complied with.
2.15 Corrosive environment
Seagate electronic drive components pass accelerated corrosion testin g equivalent to 10 years expo sure 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 en vironment. Users
should use caution exposing any electronic components to unco ntrolled chemical pollutants and corrosive
chemicals as electronic drive component reliability ca n be affected b y the installati on envir onment. Th e silver,
copper, nickel and gold films used in Seagate products are especially sensitiv e to the presence of sulfide, chlo-
ride, and nitrate contaminants. Sulfur is found to be the most damaging. In addition, electronic com ponents
should never be exposed to condensing water on the sur face o f the p rinted c ircui t board a ssem bly (P CBA) or
exposed to an ambient relative humidity greater than 95%. M aterials used in cabinet fabrication, such as vulca-
nized rubber, that can outgas corrosive compounds should be minimized o r eliminated. T he useful lif e of any
electronic equipment may be extended by replacing materials near circuitry with sulfide-free alternatives.