On March 15, 2018, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a list of product types, substances and exemptions that will be part of an update to the country’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation.
The move confirms that the list, originally drafted and released for public comment in July, will become law as expected. Each of the threshold levels are on par with those laid out by European Union (EU) RoHS. Known colloquially as China RoHS 2, the following 12 product types must meet substance restrictions or be compliant by exemption:
- Air conditioners
- Electric water heaters
- Fax machines
- Miniature computers
- Mobile communication devices
- Monitors
- Photocopiers
- Printers
- Refrigerators
- Telephones
- Televisions
- Washing machines
The update reinforces threshold levels for the following substances:
- Cadmium (Cd)
- Hexavalent chromium (Cr6+)
- Lead (Pb)
- Mercury (Hg)
- Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
- Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)
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Under the catalogue, there are a number of exempt uses of cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead and mercury, with varying levels of restriction. Meanwhile, threshold levels for the controlled substances, which are outlined in the national standard GB/T 26572 2011, are the same as those laid out by EU RoHS. However, the following substances that are covered by EU RoHS are not among these additional substances:
- Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
- Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)
- Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
- Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)
The catalogue will be implemented by March 2019. This gives companies less than a year to ensure their programs are ready to respond.
Leveraging a third-party data collection and management solution can help your company stay ahead of regulatory updates such as this. The Assent Platform can help you deploy an effective response to any product compliance requirement. With input from Assent’s team of regulatory experts, our up-to-date RoHS Module can quickly launch data collection campaigns to check your products for newly-regulated substances.
Learn more about the Assent Compliance Platform by visiting our website, or read about our RoHS Module. If you have any questions, contact us at info@assentcompliance.com.
