SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Toxic Substances Control will hold a public workshop this week to solicit input and update stakeholders on the development of regulations prohibiting the sale of non-RoHS compliant electronic devices in California.

The workshop will be held Nov. 9, at the CalEPA Building in Sacramento. A remote videoconference will take place in Glendale, CA. All interested parties are invited to participate. 

Email Linda Sargent at lsargent@dtsc.ca.gov or Cindy Chain-Britton at cchainbr@dtsc.ca.gov, or call 916-323-9219.

The event will also be accessible via a live audio webcast on the Cal/EPA website at http://www.calepa.ca.gov/broadcast/. Questions and comments may be submitted in real time and will be considered when DTSC finalizes the regulation proposal.

Beginning in 2007, a California law will ban the sale of some electronic devices that contain certain hazardous substances. The Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA), which was signed into law in September of 2003, requires the DTSC to adopt regulations to prohibit covered electronic devices “from being sold or offered for sale” in California if they are prohibited from sale in the European Union under the RoHS Directive because they contain certain heavy metals.

As of December 2005, DTSC had identified eight categories of covered electronic devices in its regulations. The list of covered devices includes:
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 s
5. LCD-containing desktops
6. Televisions containing cathode ray tubes
7. Televisions containing LCD screens
8. Plasma televisions.

The EWRA will restrict the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium in electronic devices sold in California. The RoHS Directive was amended on Aug. 18, 2005, to add maximum concentration values for the six restricted substances. DTSC will incorporate the EU’s MCVs for lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium in its regulations implementing the EWRA.

DTSC’s RoHS regulations will recognize any exemptions adopted by the EU for the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium that apply to covered electronic devices. DTSC will present the proposed RoHS regulations and solicit comments and suggestions from attendees.