To provide for the harmonization of responsibly managing process chemicals that are prioritized for elimination, substitution or, where neither are possible due to technical and/or economic barriers, engineering controls, the RBA established an Industry Focus Process Chemicals Policy (IFPC Policy) in 2021.
The IFPC Policy went into effect on January 1, 2022, and is operationalized through assessment criteria within the Validated Assessment Program (VAP) and the Specialty VAP (SVAP) on Chemical Management.
For the purpose of the RBA’s IFPC Policy, process chemicals include chemical products used during the manufacture of a product and/or maintenance of related production equipment that are not intentionally fully incorporated into the product. Process chemical products that contain process chemicals of concern listed within the IFPC Policy should be prioritized for more advanced, permanent, and protective levels of control in accordance with the Hierarchy of Controls. At minimum, occupational exposures to process chemicals of concern are required to be adequately mitigated through engineering control measures. The RBA, with approval from its Board of Directors, will maintain the IFPC Policy and its list of process chemicals of concern with consideration of input from stakeholders such as the Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN).
The full IFPC Policy is available to RBA members here. RBA members can view this video, which provides an overview of the purpose and implementation of the IFPC Policy, and the related presentation slides here. This “At a Glance” memo provides more information for members on the application and scope of the IFPC Policy, which is also available in Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Malay, and Thai.
RBA Members and their suppliers can access additional information and resources on IFPC Policy for free through the IFPC Information Portal in the RBA’s eLearning Academy, including:
- RBA’s Industry Focus Process Chemical (IFPC) Policy
- RBA’s Process Chemical Management Guide
- RBA’s Process Chemical Management & Safety Learning Plan
- CEPN’s Process Chemical Data Collection (PCDC) Tool
- CEPN’s Qualitative Exposure Assessment (QEA) toolkit
- CEPN's Alternative Assessment Guide and list of resources for safer alternatives.
These resources are also available in Chinese through the RBA's Mandarin IFPC Information Portal.
这些资源也可以通过普通话 IFPC 信息门户以中文形式提供。
