Restrictions on the use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in Electronic Devices

What is RoHS?

RoHS is an acronym for Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances. The concept behindCalifornia’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:

• California’s RoHS Law: Health and Safety Code sections 25214.9-25214.10.2
• California’s RoHS regulations: California Code of Regulations, title 22, section 66260.202
• Legislative history of California’s RoHS Law: Senate Bill 20, 2003 and 50, 2004

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.