CEPN Priority Chemicals
CEPN Priority Chemicals - An MRSL for the Electronics Industry
CEPN has identified the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Rounds of Priority Chemicals — process chemicals to be prioritized for elimination or substitution in electronics manufacturing and serve as an MRSL for the electronics industry. The first three rounds of Priority Chemicals are focused on solvents used as process chemicals in electronics manufacturing.
CEPN encourages companies throughout the electronics manufacturing supply chain to adopt Priority Chemicals as an industry MRSL to unify on process chemical restrictions, simplify chemical disclosures and advance safer process chemistry.
Selection Process: The selection process for these Priority Chemicals included nominating a starting list of chemicals using electronics companies’ Manufacturing Restricted Substances Lists (MRSL) as well as other publicly available MRSLs, aggregated and anonymized data collected using CEPN’s Process Chemical Data Collection (PCDC) Tool and soliciting nominations from a broad cross section of stakeholders.
The nominated chemicals were then researched and screened against 1) CEPN’s High Hazard Criteria; 2) use in the electronics industry as solvents in manufacturing processes; and 3) a high-level review of potential availability of safer alternatives. More details on the selection process are provided in CEPN's Procedure on the Selection of Priority Chemicals.
More information on the selection and research conducted for the three Rounds of Priority Chemicals can be found in:
- First Round Priority Chemical Selection Report, December 2019
- Second Round Priority Chemical Selection Report, June 2023
- Third Round Priority Chemical Selection Report, April 2026