SAE International has formed a new committee, E-1, to address all facets of how the aerospace industry responds to environmental requirements contained “in rules, regulations, and law.”
The committee was approved by the SAE Aerospace Council in January 2008. The committee’s scope, as defined in its charter, is “to serve as the primary technical consultative body in determining standard and consistent processes and tools for declaring, recording, reporting, or certifying chemical, material, or emissions content of aerospace products to ensure consistent OEM and supplier compliance.” Its objective is to “develop standards which outline to OEMs and suppliers how to comply with regulations such as the European Union’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) directive, including how to declare chemical content of aerospace parts and components in a consistent way.”
Two standards already have been issued by the committee. AS9535, Substance Declaration Standard, consists of a declaration form and instructions for completing the form. AS9536, Declarable Substances Recommended Practice, is intended to be used in conjunction with AS9535 to address, in a consistent way, the collection of information on chemicals throughout the supply chain.
“Original equipment manufacturers and component suppliers will need to collect an unprecedented amount of information on the chemistry of the products they sell,” explained AS9535 sponsor Dennis Hussey of Goodrich Corp. “This is due to the increased recognition of the potential harmful effects of chemicals on people and the environment.”
The standard form “will ease the regulatory burden of companies in the supply chain by eliminating reporting in multiple formats,” Hussey continued. “In addition, by providing for reporting in an electronic format, it will improve data quality and will facilitate importation of information into company databases, thus reducing costs throughout the supply chain.
“This form, when used in conjunction with the SAE Recommended Practice on Declarable Substances, will provide sufficient lead time to identify and qualify replacements for substances that will be banned by REACH or similar legislation. This additional time will help SAE members to achieve cost-effective compliance.”