Smitty Two said:
ah-so. Apparently my confusion on this issue hasn't worn off yet.
*Somewhere* I thought I heard that consumer grade electronics had to be
RoHS compliant, but it might have been a dream...
I do know that California has some RoHS restrictions. I also know that
several of our customers who market globally require us to comply with
EU RoHS assembly standards so that they can market worldwide without
trying to keep track of which unit has lead and which one doesn't.
So it's likely that even stuff manufactured in the U.S., for sale in the
U.S., has the feared lead-free solder in it.
I saw an article the other day that said that Arnie had personally blocked
some lead-restrictive potential legislation in his capacity as governor of
ca. Ah I've just found it. Don't know if it will make it through the
newsgroup server system, but here it is copied below ...
California vetoes ROHS-expansion bill
Edited by Suzanne Deffree -- EDN, 1/10/2008
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed an assembly bill that
would have more closely aligned California’s ROHS
(restriction-of-hazardous-substances) law and regulations with the EU
(European Union) ROHS directive. The bill, AB 48, would have expanded
California ROHS to include all electrical and electronic equipment, as
opposed to its current requirements for “covered electronic devices,” which
include nine video-display devices that the state’s Department of Toxic
Substances Control regulations list. The bill also aimed to require that all
electrical and electronic equipment that manufacturers sell in California as
of Jan 1, 2010, comply with EU ROHS stipulations for lead, mercury, cadmium,
and hexavalent cadmium.
Schwarzenegger sent the bill back to the California legislature in the fall,
stating in a memo that the bill’s approach “is largely unworkable and
instead of the benefits it seeks to accomplish, could ultimately result in
unintended and potentially more harmful consequences.”
The governor noted the exemption language for spare parts and refurbished
products, claiming that, as written, the bill would make many electronic
products prematurely obsolete and force their retirement years earlier than
necessary. The California legislature is expected to try to pass this or a
similar bill again in 2008.
Arfa
