| 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: 
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| 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.
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| What are the Maximum Containment Values (MCVs) for these Metals in Products?
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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.
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| California RoHS vs. European RoHS
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| Additional European Union (EU) RoHS Links
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| DTSC Green Electronics Symposium
DTSC hosted an all-day Green Electronics symposium on Thursday, February 19, 2009, in Sacramento. The following agenda includes links to the speakers' presentations and biographies, as well as Webcast videos of each session. Disclaimer: In an effort to foster the free exchange of information and scientific and technical advances in regards to sustainable electronics manufacturing, DTSC, in cooperation with Intertek, hosted this symposium. The information presented represents the views of the participants and has not received formal peer review. Therefore, this information does not necessarily reflect the views of DTSC, Intertek, or other participating organizations, and no official endorsement should be inferred. The information is not intended, nor can it be relied upon, to create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States, State of California or any other party. Use or mention of trade names does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for use. Errors and omissions in the information will be corrected as they are found and time permits.
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| Other Information/Links
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