Introduction

Citation

Goosey, M. (2002), "Introduction", Circuit World, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2002.21728aaa.001

Introduction

Introduction

The subjects of sustainability and sustainable development are becoming increasingly common themes that are predicted to have a significant impact on the future development of many industrial sectors including the PCB industry. This paper gives a brief overview of a project recently undertaken in the UK by the PCIF's Environmental Working Group (with support from the UK DTI and Shipley Europe Ltd) to identify and prioritise key sustainable technology opportunities in the PCB Industry.

Sustainability is a term that can have a wide range of definitions depending upon the context within which it is used. For example, the World Commission on Environment and Development has defined sustainability as:

Meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainable and sustainability are terms that are used to describe many different approaches towards the improvement of our way of life and may be used to relate equally to sustainable agriculture, sustainable development or sustainable business. While there are many descriptions of sustainability, there is also a common theme. Additionally, the conditions for sustainability can also still be defined.

In relation to an environmental concept, examples of what sustainability may encompass include:

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  an attempt to merge ecology and economy into a single system;

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  renewing resources at a rate equal to or greater than the rate at which they are consumed;

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  living within the resources of the planet without damaging the environment now or in the future.

In terms of sustainable development, some of the appropriate descriptions include:

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  sustainable development must not endanger the natural systems supportive of life; the atmosphere, the waters, the soils and living beings;

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  sustainable development requires that the rate of depletion of non-renewable resources should foreclose as few options as possible;

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  sustainable development requires that adverse impacts on the quality of air, water and other natural elements are minimised so as to sustain the ecosystem's overall integrity;

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  sustainable development requires the promotion of values that encourage consumption standards within the bounds of the ecologically possible (and to which may be reasonably aspired).

A related concept, and one that embodies an approach of sustainability and sustainable development, is that of environmental integrity. This is a more relevant approach when addressing the type of environmental and associated problems encountered within manufacturing industry. The essence of environmental integrity is:

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  living within ecological limits;

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  protecting natural resources;

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  responsible consumption patterns; e.g. re-use, recycling;

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  measurable carrying capacity indicators, e.g. water quality, air quality, species diversity, etc.

Thus within the PCB industry an approach embracing sustainability to address environmental problems should be one that strives to eliminate environmental impacts (and thus protects the ecosystem) in a manner embodying the principles and concepts outlined above. It should, for example, embrace concepts such as waste minimization, reduced use of finite raw materials, recycling and reuse, as well as seeking to minimize the use of energy and the generation of greenhouse gasses. The PCB industry, with it wide use of water, chemicals, other raw materials and energy therefore offers many opportunities for implementing a more sustainable approach.

Sustainable technology opportunities in the PCB industry

In the programme of work reported here, a number of potential sustainable development areas were identified using a compilation of existing related information from previous work, discussions with members of the PCIF's Environmental Working Group and input from UK PCB industry specialist sources. This was subsequently increased following additional inputs, further research and more detailed discussions to generate the following list of environmental concerns and proposed areas for prioritised sustainable development activities.

Identified areas requiring developmentAreas identified as requiring development are:

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  water conservation;

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  water recycling;

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  copper recovery;

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  direct metallisation systems;

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  complexant chemistry;

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  photochemistry;

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  solid wastes;

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  spent chemistry;

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  volatile organic compounds (VOCs);

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  process control;

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  alternative finishes;

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  packaging – recycling/reuse;

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  integrated waste treatment;

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  recyclable chemistries;

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  water and waste management software modelling;

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  scrap/end-of-life boards – recyclable components/ metals, etc.;

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  legislative demands.

There is a good degree of correlation between these identified areas of concern and similarly expressed concerns arising from a US EPA survey of the North American PCB industry and the perceived environmental and occupational health challenges and information needs. What is clear from the US survey, which was taken from response to a questionnaire, is that the drivers to meeting environmental challenges are legislative and the concerns of the PCB industry are increasingly directed towards realising compliance. There is also a need to respond to waste minimisation issues both as a means of effectively achieving compliance and in the knowledge that landfill sites are becoming scarcer and more expensive to use. These views have recently been echoed through correspondence with a primarily US-based IPC environmental discussion group network and it appears that the US PCB industry concerns remain unchanged since the time of the EPA survey.

As a result of further detailed studies and discussions to evaluate the possible sustainable technologies that must be developed to address the above concerns, it has become apparent that a number of them could be dealt with as integrated project developments. This is because their objectives are similar or because the technologies to be developed would be similar. Examples include the integration of water conservation and water recycling and the combination of solid waste and spent chemistry under a broader waste minimisation approach.

Based on the results of the study undertaken, several key projects have been identified that broadly cover the key process and environmental concerns that need to be addressed. Outline proposals have been written and these give a description of the scope of the perceived development projects and the developable sustainable technologies that will enable viable solutions to be offered. Full details of this recently completed project and copies of the Scoping Study final report can be obtained from the author at mgoosey@sey.com or from the PCIF by contacting sbroadfoot@pcif.org

Martin GooseyShipley Europe Ltd, Coventry