REGULATORY PRACTICES

Ongoing new laws and regulations impact the rubber sealing and fluid power industries increasingly each year. High Performance Seals' quality and technical staff review all these directives, ensuring that all products comply with different regulations found throughout the world. A few of the more common regulations are:

• Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS):  This is an EU directive that establishes restrictions on certain hazardous substances in electronic and electrical equipment. It specifically restricts usage of certain heavy metal, heavy metal compounds and brominated flame retardants in electronic and electrical equipment. All High Performance Seals products are both RoHS and RoHS 2 compliant. 
• Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACh):  REACh is another EU mandate that addresses the registration of chemical or manufactured articles that are imported into the European Union. The foundation of the REACh regulation is the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (ECHA). This list details elements or chemicals that are required to be reported to the EU upon importation. The candidate list is constantly updated and as of December, 2013, the list contained 151 different substances. Most parts supplied by High Performance Seals are REACh compliant, however since the candidate list is continuously updated, please check with us for current REACh status of our supplied products. 
• Dodd Frank Conflict Minerals: As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, this conflict mineral regulation prohibits sourcing of certain minerals and elements from conflict regions inside Africa. This regulation currently restricts the sources of tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold to certified areas that do not directly or indirectly finance armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country. Currently, tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold are not used in the formulation of any rubber or plastic parts supplied by High Performance Seals.