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72 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2021 In the more than half-century since the rise of electronic devices, nearly every human being on the planet has, at some point in their life, come into contact with one. As this con- tact became an inevitability in most parts of the world, human health and safety also became a critical factor in the design of all electronics. From this need to protect users from the myriad deleterious effect of toxins i n e l e c t r o n i c s t h e r e a r o s e d o z e n s o f global regulations regarding hazard- ous substances. ( A n e c e s s a r y caveat: ere are drivers for these regulations that have absolutely nothing to do with electronics. But seeing as this is a publication targeting the design of elec- tronic circuits, I will not be spending too much time discussing leather for car seats or thermoset plastics for electric drill bodies, etc.) One such regulation that I am sure most electronics manufacturing industry profes- sionals are aware of is the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), the most recent version of which bans the use of 10 sub- stances in the EU which have been proven to have negative impacts on human health and safety. Perhaps most well-known to electron- ics is Pb (lead) which prompted the need for (and conversion to, in most cases) Pb-free sol- der. Need I go on? Of course, EU RoHS is only one example of a restriction of substances, and that is not the only R o H S . Ho w e v e r , this column is not intended to edu- cate on the various reg ulator y agen- cies and their pro- g r ams, nor pro - vide instruction on which compounds a n d s u b s t a n c e s should or should n o t b e u s e d f o r fabricating boards. R e s o u r c e s a l r e a d y e x i st on s uch matter s which far outpace both my understanding of the duties and nuance of these regulations and of the chemistries cited therein. Furthermore, this is not an opinion piece regarding the merits of these various regulations. Cost of Compliance and How Data Transfer Standards Can Help Design Circuit Feature Column by Patrick Crawford, IPC