- CEH, Ecology Center, Sierra Club, and other groups petition EPA to ban lead wheel weights.

-  You can read CEH's testimony given to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on April 20, 2009 by CEH Executive Director Michael Green. The testimony was given in support of the bill. Please click here to read the document. 

Background

In August 2007, CEH initiated legal action against Chrysler and the three largest manufacturers of automobile wheel balancing weights, Perfect Equipment Inc., Hennessey, and Plombco Inc., based on the serious threat to drinking water posed by lead wheel weights. Wheel weights, used on about 80% of cars and trucks, are often made of lead. When the weights fall off of the tires as a result of sudden movement or impact, they can slowly disintegrate and be swept into our waterways. Estimates show that 500,000 pounds of lead is released into California's environment annually from wheel weights that fall off of vehicles. Lead from wheel weights can also be tracked into people's homes, especially those who live near busy streets. Wheel weights can be made of other materials (for example, steel and zinc), and lead has been banned in wheel weights in the European Union since 2005.

In August 2008, CEH reached a legal agreement with the four companies. The agreement stipulates that Plombco would end shipments of lead wheel weights to California by the end of 2008, and that Perfect Equipment and Hennessy will do so by the end of 2009. Chrysler agreed to eliminate its use of lead wheel weights for cars intended for sale in California by July 31, 2009. Please click here to read our press release from August 2008 about the settlement reached, and here to read our report about lead wheel weights. 

CEH is worked with state Senator Fran Pavely's office on a bill the senator introduced to the California Senate on February 27, 2009. The legislation bans the sale and installation of lead wheel weights by any company in California. This bill complements our legal settlement, and could set a strong precedent for other states to institute similar bans. We continue to eliminate the threat of toxic chemicals to our families and communities by strategically approaching an environmental health issue from different angles.

Update: Governor Schwarzenegger signed this bill into law on October 12, 2009. The sale and installation of lead wheel weights are now banned in California.

You can read the text of the bill and follow its status at the official site for California Legislative Information.

Please click here to read the Los Angeles Times' coverage of CEH's successful settlement. And please click here to read cnet's article about the settlement. 

Read more about lead wheel weights at Ecology Center's www.leadfreewheels.org.