| What is RoHS?
 RoHS is an acronym for Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances. The concept behind California’s RoHS Law is to limit the amounts of certain hazardous heavy metals in specific waste electronic devices so that those metals never find their way into landfills or elsewhere, where they can eventually be released into the environment.
California's Legislature modeled the California RoHS Law after the European Union's (EU's) Directive 2002/95/EC which bans certain hazardous substances from electrical and electronic equipment sold in the EU. The California RoHS law required DTSC to adopt regulations prohibiting a covered electronic device from being sold or offered for sale in California if that device is prohibited from being sold or offered for sale in the EU due to the presence of lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium above certain maximum concentration values (MCVs). DTSC's California RoHS regulations took effect January 1, 2007. Below you can find links to key legal and regulatory sources of information: 
|
| Q. |
Are any devices excluded from the definition of “covered electronic device”?
|
| A. |
Yes. Pursuant to section 42463 of the Public Resources Code, "covered electronic device" does not include any of the following:
(A) A video display device that is a part of a motor vehicle, as defined in Section 415 of the Vehicle Code, or any component part of a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle.
(B) A video display device that is contained within, or a part of a piece of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, including monitoring or control equipment.
(C) A video display device that is contained within a clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer, microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room air conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier.
(D) An electronic device, on and after the date that it ceases to be a “covered electronic device” under subdivision (e) of Section 25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.” |
| Q. |
Are batteries sold with “covered electronic devices” subject to RoHS?
|
| A. |
No. Batteries are not subject to the EU RoHS Directive, and are also, therefore, not subject to California RoHS. |
| Q. |
Are devices designed primarily for use in vehicles subject to Calfornia’s RoHS law?
|
| A. |
No. Devices that are designed primarily for use in vehicles (such as televisions designed specifically for use in cars), are not subject to the EU RoHS Directive, and are therefore not subject to California’s RoHS law. |
| Q. |
Are parts for “covered electronic devices” that are sold directly to users (e.g. a plug-in card for a laptop computer) subject to RoHS?
|
| A. |
Any product that is sold directly to consumers and does not meet the definition of “covered electronic device” is not subject California RoHS, even if the device is designed for use in or with a “covered electronic device”. |
| Q. |
Are remote controls sold with “covered electronic devices” subject to RoHS?
|
| A. |
No. The remote control that is sold along with a “COVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE” is not subject to RoHS, unless the remote control is itself a “COVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICE” and subject to RoHS. |
| Q. |
Are the detachable power cords sold with “covered electronic devices” subject to RoHS?
|
| A. |
External power cords sold along with “covered electronic devices” are subject to RoHS because they lack an enclosure, and are hence not considered a separate finished product or device. |
| Q. |
Are the external power supplies sold with “covered electronic devices” subject to RoHS?
|
| A. |
External power supplies are not subject to RoHS. |
| Q. |
Do the components used to make a “covered electronic device” that is subject to RoHS have to be compliant even if the components were made before 1 Jan 2007?
|
| A. |
Yes, if the “covered electronic device” made from the components will be sold or offered for sale in California. If the “covered electronic device” itself is subject to RoHS, then the components that go into that “covered electronic device” also must be compliant with California RoHS, regardless of when the components were manufactured. |
| Q. |
What are the requirements regarding compliant parts being used in CA RoHS-compliant “covered electronic devices” (e.g., for warranty service or refurbishing)?
|
| A. |
A manufacturer performing warranty service on a “covered electronic device” may not replace a defective component in a compliant “covered electronic device” with a noncompliant component. Non-compliant components may only be used in warranty service or refurbishing to replace or repair a defective component, if both the noncompliant component and the noncompliant “covered electronic device” under warranty were manufactured before the device became classified as a “covered electronic device”. |
| Q. |
What does "sell or offer for sale" mean
|
| A. |
It means the sell or offering for sale of “covered electronic devices” by importers, wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors, and/or retailers. It includes the transfer of a “covered electronic device” from a manufacturer's manufacturing component (which may be located in or out of the state) to its commercial component located in the state. It also applies to the transfer of an individual device from the manufacturer to any person in the distribution chain that extends from the initial distributor to the final consumer, and includes the transfer by the manufacturer to its California commercial chain. |
| Q. |
What electronic devices are subject to California RoHS (CA RoHS)?
|
| A. |
Only “covered electronic devices”, as defined in Public Resources Code, section 42463, are subject to CA RoHS. |
| Q. |
What is “a part of a part of a piece” of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment?
|
| A. |
“A part of a piece" means:
“An undefined portion, but something less than the whole, of a single device”.
To be “a part of a piece”, the video display device in question would have to be physically attached (e.g., bolted or welded) to the piece of equipment in question. |
| Q. |
What is a “covered electronic device”, or CED?
|
| A. |
A “covered electronic device” is any video display device with a screen greater than four inches in size that fits into one of the following categories:
1. Cathode ray tube containing devices (CRT devices)
2. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs)
3. Computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes
4. Laptop computers with liquid crystal display (LCD)
5. LCD containing desktop monitors
6. Televisions containing cathode ray tubes
7. Televisions containing liquid crystal display (LCD) screens
8. Plasma televisions
9. Portable DVD players with LCD screens |
| Q. |
What is a “homogenous material”?
|
| A. |
“Homogenous materials” are materials that can not be mechanically disjointed into different materials.
Examples:
- A plastic cover is a "homogeneous material" if it consists of one type of plastic that is not coated with any other kind of material.
- An electric cable that consists of metal wires surrounded by non-metallic insulation materials is an example of a "non-homogeneous material" because the different materials could be separated by mechanical processes.
|
| Q. |
What is RoHS?
|
| A. |
It is a restriction on the amount of lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chrome in covered electronic devices sold, or offered for sale, in California. |
| Q. |
What is the maximum concentration limit for the prohibited substances (e.g., lead, cadmium, mercury, and chromium)?
|
| A. |
The maximum concentration limits for the restricted metals under CA RoHS are 0.1%, by weight for lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, and 0.01% by weight for cadmium. This limit applies to the “homogenous materials” that comprise the device. |
| Q. |
Who does the California RoHS prohibition apply to?
|
| A. |
Anyone who sells or offers for sale a “covered electronic device” in California. |
|
|
| Who Does California's RoHS Law Apply to?
RoHS applies to anyone who sells, or offers for sale, a covered electronic device in California. This includes: manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers who sell covered electronic devices in California. However, a CED that would not be subject to the EU RoHS Directive (for example, a device that is subject to the EU's end-of-life-vehicle directive or battery directive instead of the RoHS directive) is not subject to California’s RoHS law.
|
| What are the Maximum Containment Values (MCVs) for these Metals in Products?
|
The MCVs under California's RoHS law are the same as those that apply to the EU's RoHS Directive. For lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium the MCV is 0.1% by weight. The MCV for cadmium is 0.01% by weight.
The MCVs apply to each “homogeneous material” used in the manufacture of covered electronic devices, rather than to the entire covered electronic device or specific components or specific components of the covered electronic device. The European Parliament and Commission has defined "homogeneous material" as follows: A homogeneous material means a material that can not be mechanically disjointed into different materials.
- The term "homogeneous" means "of uniform composition throughout". Examples of homogeneous materials are individual types of plastics, ceramics, glass, metals, alloys, paper, board, resins and coatings.
- The term “mechanically disjointed” means that the materials can, in principle, be separated by mechanical actions such as unscrewing, cutting, crushing, grinding and abrasive processes.
EXAMPLES: - A plastic cover is a "homogeneous material" if it consists of one type of plastic that is not coated with or has attached to it, or inside it, any other kinds of materials. In this case, the MCVs would apply to the entire plastic cover.
- An electric cable that consists of metal wires surrounded by non-metallic insulation materials is an example of a "non-homogeneous material" because the different materials could be separated by mechanical processes. In this case the MCVs would apply to each of the separated materials individually.
- A semi-conductor package contains many homogeneous materials which include plastic, moulding material, tin electroplating coatings on the lead frame, the lead frame alloy and gold-bonding wires. In this case the MCVs would apply to each of the homogeneous materials that comprise the semi-conductor package.
Exemptions - The RoHS prohibition does not apply to a covered electronic device sold or offered for sale in California only for purposes of or offering for resale to persons outside of California.
- Any application of cadmium, chromium, lead, or mercury, or any component containing any of those metals, that is exempted from the EU RoHS Directive, or by an amendment to that Directive, is also exempt from California’s RoHS Law.
- The sale of a covered electronic device that contains an otherwise prohibited substance is exempt from California’s RoHS Law if that substance was used to comply with consumer, health, or safety requirements as are required by the Underwriters Laboratories, the federal government, or the state.
 For more information see:
-The full text of California’s RoHS law and implementing RoHS regulations.
-The Annex of the EU RoHS Directive, and subsequent amendments to the EU RoHS Directive, for current exemptions.
|
|
| California RoHS vs. European RoHS
|
| Additional European Union (EU) RoHS Links
|
| Other Information/Links
| |
