The
California Assembly Bill 1953 (AB-1953)
mandates that
starting on January 1, 2010, all faucets and plumbing fittings
sold in California MUST be lead free.
The
actual language used in the Bill is:
"No
person shall introduce into commerce any pipe, pipe or plumbing
fitting, or fixture intended to convey or dispense water for
human consumption through drinking or cooking that is not lead
free? This includes kitchen faucets, bathroom faucets, and any
other end use
device intended to convey or dispense water for
human consumption through drinking or cooking, but excludes
service saddles, backflow preventers for nonpotable services
such as irrigation and industrial, and water distribution main
gate valves that are two inches in diameter and above.?
AB‐1953
in essence mandates that any plumbing product used
in a drinking or potable water system must be lead free.
This includes faucets, hose bibbs, ball valves, pressure
reducing valves, etc.
Some
controversy has arisen over the phrases ?introduce into commerce?
and ?fixture intended to convey or dispense water for human
consumption?. Several attorneys, politicians, and industry experts
interpret these phrases to mean the following:
"Introduce
Into Commerce?
This
has been interpreted to include sale by any distributor, both retail
and wholesale, and installation by any contractor, both in new
construction or repair project.
"fixture
intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption?
This
has been interpreted to mean any plumbing product connected
to a drinking or potable water system. This includes ball valves,
hose bibbs, pressure reducing valves, etc. The idea being that
the lawmakers included a clear list of items that are excluded from
the law. So if the lawmakers wanted to exclude ball valves, hose
bibbs, or other items, they would have added them to the list of
excluded products.
WHY
THE FEAR OF LEAD?
Lead
has been identified as a toxic metal that can be harmful
to human health when ingested or inhaled. Lead is
transferred to the drinking water through corrosion from
plumbing products containing lead.
Low
level exposure to lead has been linked to children?s lower IQ levels,
impaired hearing, and reduced attention span. In February 2009,
a father two boys in Washington DC filed a lawsuit against the
city for his sons? behavioral and learning disorders caused by lead
poisoning, according to the suit.
HOW
WILL AB‐1953
BE ENFORCED?
On
January 1, 2010, the Department of Toxic Substance Control
(DTSC) will begin sampling plumbing products from
various wholesale and retail distributors across the state.
Non‐compliance
will be punished by heavy fines.
WILL
CHAMPION‐ARROWHEAD
BE COMPLIANT?
Champion-Arrowhead
is a California based
company with a
California factory that is committed to meeting the new California
Lead Free
Law.
On
September, 15, 2009, Champion‐Arrowhead
began selling its entire
line of plumbing products in Lead‐Free
version. Starting January
1, 2010, every plumbing product manufactured and sold by
Champion‐Arrowhead
will be Lead‐Free
and AB‐1953
compliant. A
copy of our IAPMO certification can be downloaded here.
