United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Pollution Prevention
and Toxics
(7406)
EPA744-F-96-020
September 1996
Design for the Environment
Printed Wiring Board Project
U.S.EPA*
What Is Design for the
Environment?
EPA's Design for the Environment
(DfE) Program is a voluntary initia-
tive that forges partnerships with
many stakeholder groups in an
effort to:
• Incorporate environmental con-
cerns into the traditional
decision-making parameters of
the business world: cost and
performance.
• Build incentives for behavior
change to encourage continu-
ous environmental improvement.
To accomplish these goals, the
program utilizes EPA expertise
and leadership to evaluate the
environmental and human health
risks, performance, and cost
trade-offs between traditional and
alternative technologies. DfE
disseminates information on its
work to all interested parties and
assists businesses in implement-
ing new technologies identified
through the program.
The program currently has
cooperative partnerships with:
• Industry
• Government purchasing
authorities
» Professional institutions
• Academia
• Environmental and public
interest groups
Making the Connection
Why Is EPA
Working With the
PWB Industry?
The printed wiring board (PWB) is
the underlying link between semi-
conductors, computer chips, and
other electronic components.
Therefore, PWBs are irreplaceable
parts of many high-tech products in the electronics, defense, communications,
and automotive industries. PWB manufacturing, however, generates a signifi-
cant amount of hazardous waste, requires a substantial amount of water and
energy, and uses some toxic chemicals that pose potential environmental and
health risks.
The industry has already committed to making pollution prevention a priori-
ty. However, many PWB manufacturers are small businesses that cannot
afford to independently develop the data needed to redesign their processes. To
facilitate the evaluation and implementation of alternative technologies that
reduce health and environmental risks and production costs, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has entered into a partnership with
the PWB industry and other interested parties through its Design for die
Environment (DfE) Program.
How Did the
PWB Project Get
Started?
In March 1993, Microelectronics and Computer
Technology Corporation (MCC), an industry research
consortium, released an industry-led study entitled
Environmental Consciousness: A Strategic
Competitiveness Issue for the Electronics Industry. The
study recognized that wet chemical processes, such as those used in PWB fab-
rication, are a significant source of hazardous waste and consume large
'amounts of water and energy. The potential for improvement in these areas
led EPA's DfE Program to forge working partnerships with the Institute for
Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (EPC)—the PWB industry
national trade association—individual PWB manufacturers and suppliers,
research institutions such as MCC and the University of Tennessee's Center
for Clean Products and Clean Technologies, and public interest organizations,
including the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
What Are the
Project's Goals
and How Will It
Affect the
Industry?
Since its inception in 1994, the PWB project has estab-
lished partnerships to foster open and active participa-
tion in addressing environmental challenges faced by
the PWB industry. The project has also identified, eval-
uated, and disseminated information on viable pollu-
tion prevention opportunities in the industry.
Over the long term, this voluntary, non-regulatory pro-
ject seeks to encourage companies to consider implementing cleaner technolo-
gies that will improve their environmental performance and competitiveness.
Toward this end, the DfE Project Team, in close cooperation with IPC's
Environmental, Health, and Safety Committee, is working to develop and ana-
lyze technical information on pollution prevention technologies that reduce
risks to human health and the environment, hazardous waste generation,
compliance costs, and chemical and natural resource use.
^Recycled/Recyclable. Printed on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber.
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What Type Of DfE's work with the PWB indus-
Ufnrlr Ic Rninn ^ an^ other stakeholders is
WOiK IS Being focused in three main areas: 1)
Conducted by the gathering and generating techni-
Team? ^ &>**, 2) communicating pro-
Ieam-
ject and technical information,
and 3) promoting the implementation of cleaner tech-
nologies through education and assistance.
Technical Studies
In 1995, the DfE Technical Workgroup mapped out the
primary steps in PWB fabrication and chose one step —
making drilled through-holes conductive (MHC)—- for
detailed analysis in a Cleaner Technologies Substitutes
Assessment (CTSA). A CTSA is a comprehensive analy-
tical tool used to evaluate the health and environmental
risks, performance, and cost of alternative materials,
processes, and technologies.
As part of the CTSA, the effectiveness of seven MHC
technologies has been tested in "real-world" settings.
EPA recruited 26 facilities in the United States and
Europe that have successfully implemented these tech-
nologies to help test their performance. Each company
processed three standard boards through its MHC
process line. The boards were then sent to one site to
complete the final manufacturing steps and were tested
for electrical and mechanical reliability. The results have
demonstrated that when implemented correctly, the
alternative technologies perform as well as or better
than the standard electroless copper technology. An
analysis of the costs and cost savings associated with
each alternative technology will also be conducted and
included in the CTSA.
Industry partners also conducted a survey to obtain
information about the current use of pollution preven-
tion technologies in the PWB industry. The survey
report contains data on waste and chemical use reduc-
tion achieved through implementing these technologies
(Printed Wiring Board Pollution Prevention and Control:
Analysis of Survey Results,- EPA 744-R-95-006). The
PWB Project Team has also compiled information on
PWB markets, products, and technology trends, and cur-
rent methods for manufacturing PWBs (Printed Wiring
Board Industry and Use Cluster Profile, EPA 744-R-95-
005), as well as information on federal environmental
regulations that affect the electronics industry (Federal
Environmental Regulations Affecting the Electronics
Industry, EPA 744-B-95-001). All project documents may
be obtained by contacting the Pollution Prevention
Information Clearinghouse (see below).
The information in the CTSA and other project docu-
ments will allow PWB industry decision-makers to
evaluate their processes and identify cost-effective pollu-
tion prevention options. The MHC CTSA is expected to
be completed in early 1997.
Communication Efforts
Throughout the project, EPA and the project stakehold-
ers have conducted outreach activities to promote
awareness of the project and to generate interest in the
project's technical and information products. Project
stakeholders have given presentations at PWB trade
shows, written articles for the PWB trade press, distrib-
uted DfE information products at booth exhibits, created
project fact sheets, and have created a Web site for the
project. In addition, the Communication Workgroup has
developed several pollution prevention case studies fea-
turing initiatives undertaken by PWB manufacturers.
The case studies provide practical information on substi-
tute materials, processes, technologies, and work prac-
tices that result in risk reduction, and are available from
the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse
(see below).
Implementation Efforts
The Project's Implementation Workgroup was estab-
lished to provide education and assistance to individual
PWB manufacturers, and to encourage them to consider
implementing the cleaner technologies identified in the
CTSA. Specific activities of the workgroup include:
• Developing a guidance document for installing and
implementing the alternative MHC technologies
(expected to be completed by February 1997).
• Conducting seminars in 1997 for PWB manufactur-
ers and local community and government represen-
tatives to present technical information about the
MHC technologies.
• Creating a Web site that contains all documents
generated by the project, with links to other
related EPA and industry sites.
• Helping Tellus Institute to design total cost assess-
ment (TCA) software specifically for PWB manufac-
turers. The software will help companies analyze the
expected financial benefits of switching to cleaner
technologies.
How Can I Get More Information?
To learn more about EPA's Design for the
Environment Program or Printed Wiring Board
Project, contact:
EPA's Pollution Prevention ][nformation
Clearinghouse (PPIC)
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
401 M Street, S.W. (3404)
Washington, DC 20460
Tel: 202 260-1023
Fax: 202 260-0178
ppic@epamail.epa.gov
You may also visit the DfE Web site at
http://es.inelgov/dfe or the DfE PWB Project Web
site at http://www.ipc.org
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