Recently, several U.S. states have implemented policies to improve product safety and reduce the environmental impact of consumer and industrial products. However, regulatory agencies and legislators in California, Washington, Vermont, and other environmentally conscious states are dissatisfied with the effectiveness of current policies and hope to further protect their natural resources and prevent public harm from toxic substances in products. Therefore, they are tightening existing laws to further prohibit the sale of products containing harmful chemicals and heavy metals. California, Maine, Vermont, and Washington have completely banned the use of lead-based wheel weights. Wheel weights are primarily used to balance wheels and prevent abnormal vibrations at high speeds.
Washington State passed a law on April 28 (HB 1033) that, effective January 1, 2011, anyone replacing wheels or installing wheel weights must use more environmentally friendly wheel weights, meaning the weights must contain no more than 0.5% by weight of the chemicals and metals of concern.
The aforementioned legislation aims to prevent leaded wheel weights from posing a threat to the environment. Fragments of leaded wheel weights are scattered on the road as vehicles travel, affecting pedestrian health and polluting soil, groundwater, and water surfaces, threatening downstream aquatic life. Lead is well known to be harmful to human health, especially children's.
Maine also implemented similar measures on May 12. The law, in addition to banning the use of leaded wheel balancing weights, extended the ban to include mercury-containing wheel balancing weights, and took effect on January 1, 2011. Furthermore, starting January 1, 2012, the state prohibited new vehicles from being equipped with any leaded or mercury-containing wheel balancing weights or other products used for wheel balancing.
Furthermore, Vermont completely banned lead-containing products last year and began prohibiting the use of lead-based wheel saddles on state vehicles on January 1, 2010, expanding this to all new vehicles on September 1, 2011. The legislation also includes regulations on children's products, similar to some already implemented provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. In addition, the state has banned the sale of piping solder with excessive lead content and non-residential paints and primers, effective January 1, 2010, and January 1, 2011, respectively.
On May 18, the California Senate passed a bill (SB 757) that would ban the manufacture, sale, and assembly of wheel balancing weights containing more than 1% lead. Violators would be subject to administrative and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each case.
In fact, the use of leaded wheel weights has already drawn the attention of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In August 2008, the EPA launched a voluntary national lead-free wheel weight program to encourage private companies to adopt lead-free wheel weights and reduce lead emissions by 2011. Furthermore, the Center for Ecology, the Sierra Club, the Center for Environmental Health, and other organizations petitioned the EPA on May 28th, requesting a complete ban on the manufacture, processing, and distribution of leaded wheel weights under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Other groups had also submitted similar requests to the EPA in May 2005, but these were rejected three months later.
In other states, Vermont Governor Jim Douglas signed a bill on June 2nd banning the use of deca-bromodiphenyl ethers (deca-PBDEs) in certain categories of consumer products. According to the law, effective July 1, 2010, the state will prohibit the sale or distribution of products containing penta-bromodiphenyl ethers (penta-PBDEs) or octa-bromodiphenyl ethers (octa-PBDEs); effective July 1, 2010, the sale or distribution of mattresses, mattress pads, and upholstered furniture containing deca-bromodiphenyl ethers will be prohibited (except for inventory purchased before July 1, 2009); and effective July 1, 2012, the sale or distribution of televisions or computers with plastic casings containing deca-bromodiphenyl ethers will be prohibited (except for inventory purchased before July 1, 2009). These restrictions do not apply to the sale or resale of used products, or automobiles or parts for automobiles.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in a variety of household products, including electronics, furniture fabrics, and furniture. Pentabromodiphenyl ether and octabromodiphenyl ether are generally considered to be the most toxic of the diphenyl ethers, while decabromodiphenyl ether is less toxic and therefore has a wider range of applications.
– Reference source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council website, 2009-06-19
