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About Panasonic

Green Products - Reducing Chemical Substances

Basic policy for managing chemical substances in products

We are manufacturing products in line with our basic policy for managing chemical substances in products, which is to minimize the use of chemical substances that are most likely to affect the environment across their lifecycles. In particular, in order to prevent the diffusion of chemical substances into the natural environment over the life cycle, we first published our Chemical Substances Management Rank Guidelines in 1999. In accordance with these guidelines, strict management of chemical substances has been in force group-wide. The use of "Level 1" chemical substances is prohibited by law, and therefore we do not use such materials. For chemical substances that may adversely affect the environment but which are not prohibited by law, we monitor our use of these substances as "managed substances." Those substances that should partially be discontinued we define as "Level 2" prohibited substances. In the future, we will promote measures to comply with the new European chemicals regulations called REACH,* which come into effect in 2007.

  • * Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restrictions of Chemicals

Chemical Substances Management Ranking Guidelines Ver. 4 (for products)

Ranks Substances
groups		 Definitions
Prohibited substances Level 1 13
  • Substances whose use in products has been prohibited by laws and regulations
  • Substances whose use in products will be prohibited by laws and regulations within one year from the revision of the guideline
  • Substances whose use in products has been prohibited by Panasonic and its subsidiaries
Level 2 1
  • Substances whose use in products will be prohibited by treaties or laws as of the specified deadlines
  • Substances whose use in products has been voluntarily restricted by Panasonic and its subsidiaries
Managed
substances		 11
  • Substances whose actual use status must be further researched and whose impact on health and safety as well as appropriate treatment must be considered
  • Substances whose use or non-use and the amount of use must be further researched

List of prohibited substance groups

Level 1
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Asbestos
Specified organic tin compounds
Short-chained chlorinated paraffin (C10-13)
Specified brominated flame retardants
(PBB and PBDE)
Azo dyes and pigments forming
specified amines
Polychloronaphthalene
(chlorine number is three or more)		 Cadmium and its compounds
Lead and its compounds
Hexavalent chromium compounds
Mercury and its compounds
Specified amine compounds
Ozone-depleting substances
(excluding HCFC)
Formaldehyde
Level 2
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its compounds, vinyl chloride copolymer

List of managed substances

Antimony and its compounds (including alloys)
Arsenic and its compounds (including alloys)
Beryllium and its compounds (including alloys)
Bismuth and its compounds (including alloys)
Nickel and its compounds (excluding alloys)
Selenium and its compounds (including alloys)		 Organic tin compounds
Brominated flame retardants
(excluding PBBs and PBDEs)
Ozone-depleting substances (HCFCs)
Radio active substances
Phthalate esters

[Related Data File]

[Related Information Link]

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