Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp says that the company's non-oriented silicon steel has passed the certification of the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment.

WISCO is the first Chinese iron and steel company that has obtained this RoHS certification. The RoHS Directive of EU, which was enacted on July 1, 2006, bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.

As one of the first cold-rolled silicon steel manufacturers in China, WISCO boasts a total production capacity of 1.2 million tons. The company's non-oriented silicon steel has been widely used in transformers, dynamotors, electromotors, and home appliances. According to Wang Ling, general manager of WISCO, WISCO began to prepare for the RoHS certification of its non-oriented silicon steel products at the end of 2006 by building a harmful substance control system and promoting some core technologies in order to meet the green challenge posed by the EU.