An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

Safer Choice

Alternative Technologies for Making Holes Conductive: Cleaner Technologies for Printed Wiring Board Manufacturers

The following document explores alternative technologies for making holes conductive as part of the DfE Printed Wiring Board Project and answers the following questions:

  1. Why should I switch to an alternative technology for making holes conductive (MHC)?
  2. Which MHC technologies were evaluated in the DfE Project?
  3. How may MHC technologies affect worker health and the environment?
  4. What kind of performance can I expect from direct metallization technologies?
  5. Will direct metallization reduce my costs?
  6. Does direct metallization use less water and energy?
  7. How does direct metallization compare to electroless copper overall?
  8. How can I make direct metallization work for my facility?
  9. What steps do I take to switch to direct metallization?
  10. Where can I find more information about pollution prevention in the PWB industry?
You may need a PDF reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.