GENEVA -- The International Electrotechnical Commission has decided not to publish a standard covering the marking and labeling of products designated as lead-free or RoHS compliant.

In a press release posted to an industry listserv, the trade group reportedly said it would instead produce a technical specification with proposals for marking presence or non-presence of substances. In doing so, the press release said, IEC turned down a proposal from IPC, which has pending standards for marking and labeling.

Ironically, IEC TC91, the committee responsible for such standards, is chaired by Dieter Bergman of IPC.

At its September meeting, the committee decided to drop the standard on the basis that the number of labeling formats in place would make consensus unlikely. In April, TC91 will instead take up drafting a general technical specification, using a Japanese proposal as a starting point, the announcement said.

ELFNET, a Web site for news on lead-free in Europe, reported TC91 committee member Walter Huck as saying, "An RoHS-compliant label cannot be standardized" because 1) no mandate by the EU Commission exists; 2) the speed with which RoHS compliance changes renders any mark or label meaningless; 3) labeling PCBs or equipment manufactured "under the scope and consideration of RoHS" is not the same as detailing compliance information.

The announcement directed persons to the  IEC TC91 Web page for more information.