IEC 62321 Determination of Certain Substances in Electrotechnical Products

The "IEC 62321 Detection of certain substances in electrotechnical products" standard, developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), consists of many sub-standards under the same title.

The purpose of this standard is to detail common best practices for testing electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

• In the standard “EN 62321-1 Part 1: Introduction and overview” the sample is defined as the object to be processed and measured. The nature of the sample and the way it is obtained are defined by the organization performing the tests, not by this standard. The choice of sample may affect the interpretation of the test results. This standard provides guidance on the disassembly procedure used to obtain the sample, but does not specify:
  • The level of disassembly procedure required to obtain a sample.
  • Definition of a unit or homogeneous material as a sample.
  • Conformity assessment procedures.
• The standard “EN 62321-2 Part 2: Disassembly, separation and mechanical sample preparation” describes sampling strategies for mechanical preparation of samples from electrotechnical products. These samples are used in analytical tests to determine levels of specific substances, as described in the test methods in other parts of the IEC 62321 standard. Restrictions for substances vary by geographic area and may be updated regularly. This standard describes a general process for obtaining and preparing samples prior to identifying any substances of concern.
• The standard “EN 62321-3-1 Part 3-1: Scanning - Lead, mercury, cadmium, total chromium and total bromine by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry” describes the scanning analysis of lead, mercury, cadmium, total chromium and total bromine in single types of materials found in electrotechnical products using the analytical technique of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. This standard is applicable to polymers, metals and ceramic materials. This test method can be applied to raw materials, single materials from products and homogenized mixtures of more than one material. Scanning of a sample can be performed using any XRF spectrometer provided that it has the performance characteristics specified in this test method. Not all types of XRF spectrometers are suitable for all sample sizes and shapes. Care should be taken to select the appropriate spectrometer design for the task in question.
• The standard “EN 62321-3-2 Part 3-2: Scanning - Total bromine in polymers and electronics by combustion ion chromatography” describes the scanning analysis of total bromine in homogeneous materials in polymers and electronics using the analytical technique of combustion ion chromatography. This test method has been evaluated for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, epoxy molding compound, polyethylene and polycarbonate) within the concentration ranges given in the standard.
• The standard “EN 62321-3-3 Part 3-3: Screening - Screening of polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and phthalates in polymers by pyrolysis or thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry” describes the screening analysis of polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, di-isobutyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, benzylbutyl phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate, di-isononyl phthalate and di-isodeacyl phthalate in polymers of electrotechnical products by the analytical technique of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using a pyrolyzer/thermal desorption accessory.
• In the standard “EN 62321-3-4 Part 3-4: Screening - Phthalates in polymers of electrotechnical products by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV), thin layer chromatography (TLC) and thermal desorption mass spectrometry (TD-MS)”, Procedures for screening di-isobutyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in polymers of electrotechnical products using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV), thin layer chromatography (TLC) and thermal desorption mass spectrometry (TD-MS) are described.
• The standard “EN 62321-4 Part 4: Mercury in polymers, metals and electronics by CV-AAS, CV-AFS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS” describes four test methods for mercury in polymers, metals and electronics, namely CV-AAS (cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry), CV-AFS (cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry), ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry) and ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). This standard also includes various procedures for the preparation of the sample solution, from which the most appropriate analysis method can be selected.
• The standard “EN 62321-5 Part 5: Cadmium, lead and chromium in polymers and electronics and cadmium and lead in metals by AAS, AFS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS” describes four test methods for lead, cadmium and chromium in polymers, metals and electronics, namely AAS (atomic absorption spectrometry), AFS (atomic fluorescence spectrometry), ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry) and ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). This standard also includes various procedures for the preparation of the sample solution, from which the most appropriate analysis method can be selected.
• The standard “EN 62321-6 Part 6: Polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in polymers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)” describes one normative and two informative techniques for the determination of polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in polymers of electrotechnical products. These test methods are:
  • Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
  • Ion attachment mass spectrometry (IAMS) technique
  • High pressure liquid chromatography technique.
• The standard “EN 62321-7-1 Part 7-1: Hexavalent chromium - Presence of hexavalent chromium in colourless and coloured corrosion protection coatings on metals by the colorimetric method” describes a boiling water extraction procedure intended to provide a qualitative determination of the presence of hexavalent chromium in colourless and coloured corrosion protection coatings on metallic samples. In this procedure, when hexavalent chromium in a sample is detected below the quantification limit of 0,10 g/cm2, the sample is considered negative for hexavalent chromium.
• The standard “EN 62321-7-2 Part 7-2: Hexavalent chromium - Determination of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in polymers and electronics by colorimetric method” describes procedures to quantitatively measure hexavalent chromium in polymer and electronics samples. This method uses organic solvent to dissolve or swell the sample matrix, followed by an alkaline digestion procedure to extract hexavalent chromium from the samples.
• The standard “EN 62321-8 Part 8: Phthalates in polymers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using pyrolyzer/thermal desorption accessory (Py/TD-GC-MS)” describes two normative and two informative techniques for the determination of di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP), di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) and di-iso-decyl phthalate (DIDP) in polymers of electrotechnical products.
• The standard "EN IEC 62321-9 Part 9: Hexabromocyclododecane in polymers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)" describes two techniques for the determination of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) in polymers of electrotechnical products. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) test method is described in the normative part of this standard. This method is suitable for the determination of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD). A method using high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) is included in the annex of the standard (Annex A).
• The standard “IEC 62321-10 Part 10: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in polymers and electronics by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)” describes a technique for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in polymers of electrotechnical products. These PAHs can be found in particular in plastic and rubber parts of a wide range of consumer products. They are present as impurities in some of the raw materials used in the production of such products, particularly in extender oils and carbon black. They are not intentionally added to the products and do not serve any specific function as components of plastic or rubber parts.
• In the standard “EN IEC 62321-11 Part 11: Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) in plastics by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)” two different techniques for the determination of TCEP tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) in plastics are described: the GC-MS and the LC-MS method. Both are suitable for quantitative analysis.
• The standard “IEC 62321-12 Part 12: Simultaneous determination - Polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and phthalates in polymers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry” describes a reference test method for the simultaneous determination of polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and four phthalates (di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in polymers of electrotechnical products. The extraction technique described in this standard is ultrasonic-assisted extraction, which is used in simultaneous extraction for sample preparation.
• The standard “IEC 62321-13 Part 13: Bisphenol A in plastics by liquid chromatography-diode array detection (LC-DAD), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)” describes three techniques for the determination of free Bisphenol A (BPA) in plastics of electrotechnical products:
  • Liquid chromatography - diode array detector (LC-DAD)
  • Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
  • Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

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