Taconic, a manufacturer of PTFE and specialty coated fabric laminates and pre-pregs for RF, microwave and high speed digital circuitry applications, is committed to producing materials which are considered safe with respect to environmental and human health issues. RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directives prohibit the following substances in electrical and electronic equipment as of July 1, 2006: · Lead · Mercury · Cadmium · Hexavalent chromium · Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) · Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), a European advisory group, proposed a directive which was approved by the European Union (Directive 2002/96/EC) in 2003 and is concerned with the recycling and recovery of Electrical and Electronic Waste. Under this directive, manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment have the responsibility for disposal of these goods. Manufacturers need to establish an infrastructure for collecting WEEE in such a way that "Users of electrical and electronic equipment from private households should have the possibility of returning WEEE at least free of charge". Also, the manufacturers are compelled to use the collected waste in an ecologically-friendly manner, either by ecological disposal or by reuse/refurbishment of the collected WEEE. Taconic confirms that all current products are in compliance with the RoHS and WEEE directives. Also, Taconic’s PTFE based materials contain no added components to achieve flame retardant properties and UL 94 V-O qualification.