Reporting Metal Alloys in Declare
Metal or metal alloy chemical abstract registry numbers (CASRNs) can reflect a wide variety of alloy compositions, which prevents the accurate screening of chemicals within products reported in Declare. Therefore, the Declare program requires that metal alloys be reported using alloy numbers or by reporting the chemical composition of the specific alloy.
As described in the Declare Manufacturer’s Guide, there are two pathways to reporting metal alloys. This guide explains how to report your metal alloys using each pathway.
Preferred Pathway: Reporting with the Alloy Number
This method requires that metals and metal alloys be identified in the bill of materials (BOM) using the Unified Numbering System (UNS) or European Norm (EN) alloy numbers. Structural parts formed by powder metallurgy may be identified by the Metal Powders Industry Federation (MPIF) Standard 35 – SP number. Additional information about the alloy, such as ASTM grade, may also be reported as secondary information.
The Unified Numbering System (UNS) of metals and alloys was developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1974 to uniformly number commercial metals and alloys in the United States, and is administered jointly by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The Copper Development Association maintains a database of copper alloys here: https://unscopperalloys.org/. There is a free lookup database of all UNS alloys here: https://www.matweb.com/search/SearchUNS.aspx.
EN alloy numbers are defined by several standards written and maintained by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
The Metal Powders Industry Federation (MPIF) maintains a standard nomenclature system for structural parts formed by powder metallurgy – see MPIF Standard 35 – SP.
Once you have the UNS EN, or MPIF alloy number, create a custom substance in 3E Exchange (follow this guide on creating a custom substance). Once you are in the Add New Custom Substance pop-up, put the description of the alloy in the Chemical Name field. Reporting the ASTM number or other identifiers will be accepted in this field as well. Then, in the Chemical Registry Number field, input the UNS, EN, or MPIF number. Then select Save.
To input the metal alloy into your product, first select the product in My Products and then select BOM. Navigate to the Chemical Registry Number field that needs the custom substance to be added, or create a new row to add your custom substance. Click on the pencil icon that appears when you hover over the Chemical Registry Number cell.
A pop-up window will appear prompting you to search for your ingredient by chemical name, registry number, or European Commission number. Search for the metal alloy you created (either by the chemical name you entered or the alloy number) and click the search icon.
The first thing that should pop up after the search is the results from your My Substances section. Click Select to add the custom substance to your BOM.
The metal alloy and the UNS or EN alloy number will now appear on your BOM!
Alternative Pathway 1: Report the Alloy Using Materials and Substances
If a UNS, EN, or MPIF number is not available, then the metal alloy may be disclosed by listing all elements making up the alloy. The elemental makeup of an alloy can be found in a mill specification/mill test report. As an example, brass is an alloy containing the pure elements copper, zinc, lead, tin, etc.
This pathway requires that you report your label using Materials and Substances.
If you have not yet reviewed Preparing Your BOM in 3E or Creating a Declare Label in 3E, it is recommended, as several steps of this process are explained in greater detail within those guides.
When preparing a metal alloy in 3E with this method, the Level 1 ingredient should be the alloy name. Then each ingredient that makes up that alloy should be Level 2. In this case, the Level 2 ingredients that make up the metal alloy will need to be reported using chemical registry numbers.
When using this alternative path, your label draft should appear with the Level 1 ingredient in bold with the Level 2 ingredients listed in normal font after it. The same will apply to all other ingredients reported in your label.
Alternative Pathway 2: Report the Alloy Make Up Using Custom Substances
If a UNS, EN, or MPIF number is not available, then the metal alloy may be disclosed by listing all elements making up the alloy. The elemental makeup of an alloy can be found in a mill specification/mill test report. As an example, brass is an alloy containing the pure elements copper, zinc, lead, tin, etc.
This pathway allows the label to be reported using either Just Substances or Materials and Substances.
If you have not yet reviewed the guidance on Creating a Custom Substance, it is recommended, as several steps of this process are explained in greater detail within that guide.
Similar to the Preferred Pathway, you will begin this process by creating a custom substance in 3E. Once you are in the Add New Custom Substance pop-up, put the description of the alloy in the Chemical Name field. Reporting the ASTM number or other identifiers will be accepted in this field as well. Then, in the Chemical Registry Number field, input the list of metals that make up the alloy, including their chemical registry numbers and the percentage included in the alloy. Then select Save.
To input the metal alloy into your product, first select the product in My Products and then select BOM. Navigate to the Chemical Registry Number field that needs the custom substance to be added, or create a new row to add your custom substance. Click on the pencil icon that appears when you hover over the Chemical Registry Number cell.
A pop-up window will appear prompting you to search for your ingredient by chemical name, registry number, or European Commission number. Search for the metal alloy you created and click the search icon.
The first thing that should pop up after the search is the results from your My Substances section. Click Select to add the custom substance to your BOM.
The metal alloy and the chemicals that make up that alloy will now appear on your BOM.
Getting Help
If you have any questions about this process and determining if your account has been successfully connected, please contact declare.support@living-future.org.
If you need a 3E Exchange account transferred to another member of your team, please contact support@3eco.com and cc declare.support@living-future.org. In that transfer request, please indicate that you are looking to transfer Declare labels within 3E Exchange from the previous owner to your account.