Testing for Chinese RoHS in North America

Help is available for manufacturers and suppliers feverishly working to meet China's Ministry of Information Industry's new RoHS Initiative's Phase I deadline on March 1, 2007.

Help is available for manufacturers and suppliers feverishly working to meet China's Ministry of Information Industry's new RoHS Initiative's Phase I deadline on March 1, 2007.

TUV Rheinland of North America, a Nationally recognised Testing Laboratory, can test, submit and mark products to meet the initiative's strict environmental compliance requirements within a two-week timeframe.

The company offers Chinese translation of official submittal documents as part of the complete package.

The new guideline - created to minimize waste and environmental impact - requires several standards and regulatory measures not seen in Europe's RoHS Directive.

Most impacted by the initiative are electronic equipment OEMs in numerous major categories (medical device, semiconductor, consumer good, industrial, etc.), which must now demonstrate conformance.

Noncompliance can effectively block a manufacturer or supplier from distributing a product to China.

"Some companies may not realise that they have probably completed 80 percent of the work already," said Geoffrey Bock, Manager of WEEE/RoHS Services for TUV Rheinland of North America.

"If they sell in Europe, then their products are already fully tested.

The other 20 percent of the work is in the document translation and the marking requirements." TUV Rheinland has the infrastructure to provide full RoHS evaluation and documentation services for the new regulations.

In this process, the company finishes mandatory product testing and then answers the required Chinese documentation (material/component declaration) in English.

The office then sends the paperwork to TUV Rheinland Group's Hong Kong office for translation into simplified Chinese.

Additionally, TUV Rheinland's product testers can recommend appropriate marking requirements for the product.

These marks note the concentration levels of banned substances in the product's components as well as the product's safe-to-use period.

TUV Rheinland Group currently has 10 offices throughout China, with several applying to become official testing labs within the country.

China plans to limit all product tests to official testing labs at some point in the coming year.

As a result, Bock believes it may be to a company's advantage to meet this year's Phase I deadline.

Industries such as semiconductor, medical equipment, and broadcasting are finding pause with the China RoHS restrictions because they were exempt from them in Europe.

Because of the stringent requirements, industry experts believe that smaller businesses are opting not to sell in China altogether.

"Companies are faced with a choice - either meet the RoHS requirement or eliminate China from the sales plan," said Bock.

"Some may choose to distribute to other countries instead but eventually they will turn to China.

Global companies tell me that China is the world's next largest growing economy, and they want to sell their products there." The European and Chinese RoHS Initiatives have numerous similarities.

RoHS restricts the use of six hazardous substances within electrical and electronic equipment.

However, China's initiative contains additional requirements such as noting the "Concentration Limits" of hazardous substances, "Marking" the presence of hazardous substances, and listing an "Environmentally Safe-to-Use Period." The Chinese initiative also has a standard on testing procedures, as well as a catalogue of products subject to substance restrictions and mandatory certification.

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