SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006

• Abstract:

  One important aspect of product-related environmental protection is environmentally safe product recycling or disposal. This is possible only with the knowledge of the substances contained and the potential hazards to health and to the environment that they represent. Therefore, the manufacturer should know which environmentally relevant substances are contained in his products. Additionally, he should know the distribution and the concentrations of these substances. He should be able to give the required information to those who need it.[; ]This guideline is written to assist companies which have to develop materials declaration questionnaires for products, for instance as part of purchase specifications. It intends to increase the harmonization and the comparability of the various questionnaires.

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 31-Aug-2006
• ICS: 13.020.30 - Environmental impact assessment
• ICS: 13.020.60 - Product life-cycles
• Technical Committee: ITIV - Electronics assembly technology and Environmental standardization
• Current Stage: 6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 01-Sep-2006
• Due Date: 01-Sep-2006
• Completion Date: 01-Sep-2006
• Ref Project: IEC GUIDE 113 - Materials declaration questionnaires - Basic guidelines

SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006 is a guide from the International Electrotechnical Commission, published by SIST in Slovenian as an identical text to IEC Guide 113. It gives basic guidelines for materials declaration questionnaires for electrotechnical and electronic products, so purchasers and suppliers can exchange substance information in a more consistent way.

What does SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006 specify?

SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006 specifies how to prepare materials declaration questionnaires for products, especially for use in purchase specifications and other supply-chain requests. It is guidance, not a prescriptive requirements standard, and its main aim is to improve harmonization and comparability while reducing repeated work.

The guide focuses on the need to know which environmentally relevant substances are present in products, where they are located, and in what concentration they appear. It presents the information flow between material suppliers, component manufacturers, appliance manufacturers, customers, and recycling or disposal facilities.

Annex	What it covers
Annex A	Examples of legally restricted substances
Annex B	Examples of criteria for declaring hazardous substances
Annex C	Examples of possibly critical components and parts

What are the key requirements of SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006?

The guide says a materials declaration should be agreed between the parties involved and adapted to the product, the confidentiality level, and the purpose of the request. In practice, this means the buyer and supplier should settle the scope and reporting rules before any questionnaire is issued.

The parties should agree on the basis of the declaration

Clause 3 says the purchaser and supplier should agree which item is covered - the full product, a component, a part, or a sub-assembly - and whether a declaration tree will be used. They should also agree on the criteria for substances, the mass thresholds or concentration limits, and the units to be used.

This matters because different levels of detail change the effort needed to collect data and the usefulness of the answer downstream.

The questionnaire should match the product and the information need

Clause 4 says the questionnaire should be tailored to the product or product group, excluding packaging, and should identify the specific place or component where a declared substance is found. It should ask about substances intentionally used in products, not substances or residues from manufacturing processes.

This keeps the questionnaire focused on material content that affects recycling, disposal, and substance control.

Substances should be identified clearly

Clause 4 says declared substances should be identified unambiguously, preferably by a Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number or another internationally used registry number. It also says weight limits and concentration limits should be defined, and that hazardous-substance limits should preferably reflect risk.

This matters because clear identification avoids confusion between substances with similar names and makes data easier to compare.

The guide points to several substance categories

Clause 4 says questionnaires may cover substances subject to legal regulation, relevant international treaties, health or environmental hazard criteria, end-of-life treatment needs, or other relevant concerns. Annex A supports the legal-regulation category, Annex B gives hazard criteria, and Annex C highlights components that can be critical for selective treatment.

This helps the user decide what to ask for and where special attention is needed in the product.

The guide supports practical questionnaire design

Clause 4 also says substances may be grouped by category, components may be grouped into families, and computer-processable questionnaires are advisable. In practice, that makes it easier to collect, sort, and reuse declarations across a supply chain.

What terms does SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006 define?

A materials declaration is the information exchanged about what substances are contained in a product, including where they are and how much is present.

A purchaser is the party demanding information, typically the customer or buyer who asks for the declaration.

A supplier is the party supplying information, such as a material supplier or component manufacturer.

A Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number is an identifier used to name a chemical compound unambiguously.

Carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction (CMR) describes substances that can cause cancer, genetic damage, or reproductive harm.

Voluntary industrial commitment (VIC) is used in Annex A for substances that are not to be used under an industry commitment rather than a legal ban.

Who uses SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006?

SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006 is used by material suppliers, component manufacturers, and appliance manufacturers when they have to answer or issue materials declaration questionnaires. It is also relevant to purchasers writing purchase specifications, and to refurbishing companies, recyclers, and exporters of second-hand equipment that may rely on the original declaration later.

The guide is relevant in environmental impact assessment and product life-cycle work, especially where recycling, disposal, or substance control depends on knowing what is inside a product.

What does the SIST-V IEC Guide 113:2006 document contain?

The document contains a short foreword, a scope, a definition section, a procedure for developing questionnaires, and a set of principles for how questionnaires should be structured. It also includes one figure showing the flow of information on material content.

Its annexes provide practical examples rather than mandatory rules. Annex A lists restricted substances across regions, Annex B lists hazard-based criteria such as CMR and environmental effects, and Annex C lists components and parts that may need special attention because they can concentrate hazardous materials.

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2006
Vprašalniki za deklaracijo materialov – Osnovne smernice
Materials declaration questionnaires - Basic guidelines
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: IEC GUIDE 113
ICS:
13.020.30 Ocenjevanje vpliva na okolje Environmental impact
assessment
13.020.60 Življenjski ciklusi izdelkov Product life-cycles
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

INTERNATIONAL
GUIDE
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
First edition
2000-10
Materials declaration questionnaires –
Basic guidelines
 IEC 2000  Copyright - all rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from the publisher.
International Electrotechnical Commission 3, rue de Varembé Geneva, Switzerland
Telefax: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail] IEC web site http://www.iec.ch
Commission Electrotechnique Internationale
H
PRICE CODE
International Electrotechnical Commission
Pour prix, voir catalogue en vigueur
For price, see current catalogue

– 2 – Guide 113  IEC:2000(E)
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
___________
MATERIALS DECLARATION QUESTIONNAIRES –
BASIC GUIDELINES
FOREWORD
This first edition of IEC Guide 113 has been prepared in accordance with annex P of Part 1 of
the ISO/IEC Directives by the Advisory Committee on Environmental Aspects (ACEA).
The text of this guide is based on the following documents:
Approval document Report on voting
C/1180/DV C/1202/RV
Full information on the voting for the approval of this guide can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.

Guide 113  IEC:2000(E) – 3 –
MATERIALS DECLARATION QUESTIONNAIRES –
BASIC GUIDELINES
1 Scope
One important aspect of product-related environmental protection is environmentally safe
product recycling or disposal. This is possible only with the knowledge of the substances
contained and the potential hazards to health and to the environment that they represent.
Therefore, the manufacturer should know which environmentally relevant substances are
contained in his products. Additionally, he should know the distribution and the concentrations
of these substances. He should be able to give the required information to those who need it.
The flow of information on material content involves several parties, as illustrated in figure 1.
Material suppliers
Manufacturers
of components
If requested
Manufacturers
of appliances
Private customers
Industrial customers
Consumer associations
Recycling/disposal
facilities
Figure 1 – Flow of information on materials content
This guideline is not prescriptive. It is rather written to assist companies which have to
develop materials declaration questionnaires for products, for instance as part of purchase
specifications. It intends to increase the harmonization and the comparability of the various
questionnaires. This is supposed to lead to cost reduction, both for those sending
questionnaires and for those answering them, but it must be kept in mind that the possibilities
for harmonizing the materials declaration questionnaires are limited because of the differing
needs of those requiring information, and because of the continual changes of the hazardous
materials lists.
2 Definition
Within the meaning of this guide, products comprise, in particular, materials, components,
subassemblies and appliances in the field of the electrotechnical and electronic industry.

– 4 – Guide 113  IEC:2000(E)
3 Procedure for developing materials declaration questionnaires
Depending on the product, requirements, level of confidentiality, etc., materials declaration
can take different forms, to be agreed between the parties involved. However, some basic
points are common to all materials declarations and taking them into account will help to
establish a sufficient level of uniformity, thus simplifying work and reducing costs.
A materials declaration always involves at least two parties, generally the purchaser (party
demanding information) and the supplier (party supplying information). Later, other parties
may make use of the original materials declaration, such as refurbishing companies,
recyclers, exporters of second-hand equipment, etc. These third parties become in due
course the party requiring information.
A number of questions should be settled between the purchaser and the supplier before a
materials declaration can be defined. The most important ones are:
a) Which item (full product, component, part, sub-assembly, etc.) should be considered? Or
should a declaration “tree” be used: finished product and components considered
separately? If so, which level of detail is required?
b) Which criteria should be used to define substances to be declared?
c) Above which mass thresholds and/or concentrations should substances be declared?
d) Which units for quantities should be used?
These points should be settled by consensus between the purchaser and the supplier,
preferably based on consensus between all actors in the supply chain. There are cases,
however, when the purchaser may prescribe the substances to be declared and/or the mass
thresholds or concentrations, without previous discussion. This is the case when regulatory
reasons are behind the request for information.
In other cases, the choice of substances could be left to the supplier, such as when the
purchaser only states the lists of restricted substances or the criteria.
In all cases, prior to elaborating any materials declaration, a clear statement regarding the
above information in general should be provided to the supplier by the purchaser.
4 Princip
...