Legislation aimed at reducing levels of lead in drinking water goes into effect Jan. 1 in California and Vermont. In the three years since the mandates—in California known as “AB 1953”—passed, manufacturers have navigated the complex process of developing, producing and certifying products that come into contact with potable water. So where do we stand as the enforcement deadline looms?
   Plumbing Manufacturers Institute members have all taken the law very seriously and have been actively preparing to meet the requirements by, and in many cases, before the deadline, said PMI executive director Barbara Higgens. 
   “Some manufacturers plan to convert their entire offerings to the low-lead technology as soon as possible,” Higgens said. “Others may choose not to shoulder that expense right away, especially in this economy. For the most part, we expect a gradual rollout. That means every faucet configuration and finish in the current catalogs may not be readily available on Jan. 1. Most manufacturers will shift all or most of their lines to the low-lead composition because of the efficiencies of harmonization. It is simply more cost-effective for a manufacturer to use the same materials and methods for all its customers nationwide.”
   Higgens said this process has been a challenge in view of the tight timeframe. She noted material costs the lead alternatives have increased between 20- and 30 percent. How these increases impact market pricing will vary by manufacturer. “It typically takes a great deal of field testing to ensure the performance and durability of a new alloy,” she said. “But because of the timeline demanded by AB 1953, beta testing and data-collection cycles had to be accelerated, adding more cost to the development process.”
   Meanwhile, the alternative materials also create more wear and tear on the manufacturers’ tooling; the equipment must run more slowly and be maintained more frequently, which again raises costs. “Finally, recycling is more complex and therefore more costly with these new materials. For example, manufacturers are not permitted to mix lead with nonleaded alloys, even when the latter are in the form of airborne particulates. Consequently, a producer must store and use these materials in separate locations within the same factory, in addition to discarding them in different recycle bins,” Higgens said.

Legend Valve said it would be in full compliance by the end of 2009, and lead-free products include the T-1001 ball valve. Photo Courtesy of Legend Valve.

“I think the biggest challenge was determining what components within a particular valve needed to be lead free by our definition in order to be compliant,” said Doug Deviney, marketing vice president for Watts Water Technologies in North Andover, Mass., adding an estimated 1,800 Watts’ valves, connectors and fittings will be compliant for 2010. 
   “We’re going to try making the transition as seamless as we can. We have set ourselves up as an industry leader in this regard,” Deviney said. To that end Watts launched its WeAreLeadFree.com Web site almost two years ago. The regularly updated site offers history on lead legislation, a primer on lead, a lead-free product directory and cross-reference, news updates, and even a roll-over U.S. map that notes the legislative status for each state, in terms of lead legislation.
   “While AB 1953 has posed some challenges for us, we really looked at it as more of an opportunity to explain the inherent aspects of our product,” said John Fitzgerald, marketing director for Chicago Faucets in Des Plaines, Ill. Since 1994, Chicago Faucets has poured a proprietary brass in its castings that already meet the lead requirement. But, he said, the company had to change some internal components to make sure the new requirements are met and exceeded. “We looked at our faucets that deliver potable water and took that as the subset of our total universe,” Fitzgerald said. “We embarked on the project to convert those products to meet the California standard.”
   He added the company would have approximately 300 commercial products that are certified for sale in California by Jan. 1, “and we are very confident moving forward that we are going to be able to meet any other customer needs,” Fitzgerald added. The company’s electronic faucets also will be compliant as of the New Year, because, although these faucets are designed for hand washing, some people may go in and fill their coffee pot or brush their teeth, he explained. “Taking that extra step would be beneficial for us for the overall picture we’re presenting we’d be much more consistent.”
   T&S Brass and Bronze Works already offers a California-compliant line and, “come the first of the year, we are taking that across the board and we plan to be able to continue to service our customers and take care of them as we have in the past,” said Eva-Marie Fox, marketing vice president for the Travelers Rest, S.C.-based company. “The group here has rallied and worked on it since talk started that such legislation was possible. When it was voted in, they had teams in place to make sure that we were able to convert all of our processes over. It certainly was a challenge. We already met the federal standards and were in full compliance.

“To meet this new standard was and still is challenging. To be compliant we have converted our products to eco-brass, a low-lead alloy that meets the regulations of AB 1953,” Fox said. “Our strategy was two-fold; first, we offered a smaller line strictly to the states of California and Vermont, to help them with any needs they had in 2009. If they thought they were getting too close to the deadline and didn’t want to take any risks; they would be sure to get a compliant line from us and not have any headaches. That particular secondary line stays in effect until the end of the year and then it rolls across to our standard line, so that it will be seamless for the people in California and Vermont.”
   Time was a definite factor, said Ray Fisher Jr., president of Fisher Manufacturing Co., in Tulare, Calif. “We had about two years from when we first heard of this and there are some huge certification issues. Not only do you have to get certified for AB 1953, you still have to go through NSF 61.9 testing. 
   “We looked at California and we thought, ‘this is going to be a bigger issue than just getting lead out of the product’. For Californians, it’s, how green is your product? We chose stainless steel because you don’t have to chrome plate the finish, you’ve got a readily recyclable product, and it’s not a proprietary item, and from a cost standpoint it isn’t any more expensive than the low-leaded or non-leaded brass-based products. It’s cheaper; it’s greener; it’s durable. This is going to be a fun time for end users, because there are going to be so many different alternatives to choose from.”
   About half of Fisher’s commercial product line sold mostly the food service industry—faucets mounted to stainless steel sinks, glass fillers, and any plumbing products that would go into a restaurant—are affected by AB 1953. Durability of the new line is getting a local field test. Fisher donated approximately 100 replacement faucets to Tulare’s elementary school district kitchens more than a year ago. “Our attitude was we’re going to take a look at where the biggest issue is, with the children of the state, and we wanted to be positive and do something for our local school district.”

Dahl Brothers Canada Ltd. Now uses an alloy that can be classified as zero lead because none’s added—whatever happens to be in the alloy is a fraction of the laws’ limits. Photo courtesy of Dahl Brothers Canada, Ltd.

A cutaway of a Delta unit with DIAMOND Seal Technology, which is how the company addressed the lead issue in most of its faucets. Photo courtesy of Delta.

The main challenge for Legend Valve was understanding the requirements of the law, noted Mike Boehk, senior project engineer for the Shelby Township, Mich., company. “The AB 1953 bill and subsequent law are unclear on exactly which products must meet the no lead law and who is responsible in the supply and installation chain for compliance. Legend Valve has aggressively embarked on a process to ensure 100 percent compliance by the end of year.” 
   The task has been enormous, Boehk said. The process encompasses hundreds of product models, thousands of items and sizes, and involves multiple manufacturing locations and certifying bodies. “Legend Valve identified alternative materials wherever needed for all of our residential plumbing products. In the cases where new materials were needed, we located new manufacturing resources and locations as necessary. Sample production runs of the new materials and products were coordinated to ensure the lead-free materials were compatible and producible, with processes often modified many times before we were satisfied and proceeded to manufacture. 
   “The products were then listed with approved agencies, requiring filings for each and every product and plant. Follow up audits and material tests have been conducted by the listing agencies in coordination with Legend Valve. These tasks are associated with just getting the product from concept to inventory. Once products were approved our inventory control experts and sales management joined the process. New pricing was calculated based on the new material and manufacturing processes. New item numbers, packaging, labeling, sales training, customer service training, and customer communication was developed,” Boehk said. Legend also has policies in place to alleviate inventory issues that may arise during the transition.
   Dahl Brothers Canada Ltd. will offer a full complement of compliant residential and commercial supply stops and valves, said Patrice Bansa, marketing vice president for the company, based in Mississauga, Ontario. “We are maintaining our design substituting a compliant material. We anticipate there might be some variation (in lead levels required in legislation in the other 48 states) and we’ve chosen an alloy that can be classified as zero lead, because there is no intentionally added lead; whatever happens to be in the alloy is a fraction of the laws’ limits, so we’re well below the .25 percent.”

Zurn said it will run two product lines—lead-free and standard, designating the lead free products with a –XL. Photo courtesy of Zurn.

That brings with it certain challenges from a processing perspective—material segregation, identification of components—throughout the manufacturing process, Bansa explained. “From a processing perspective the machining and fabrication of our product, there’s a learning curve involved there; certainly the processing is at a reduced rate, that’s why there is additional expense involved.” Two other challenges were certification—grappling with what the law actually requires—and “ensuring that whatever alloy we switched to wasn’t going to be inferior to existing materials either toxicologically or from a corrosion standpoint. We’ve been very thorough there and picked the best alloy from a toxicological and corrosion standpoint.”
   Some manufacturers, including Elkay and Halsey Taylor, have met the AB 1953 standard since before there was a standard. Years ago, when these manufacturers redesigned their products and manufacturing processes to comply with the NSF/ANSI 61 Standard, which regulates the levels of contaminants (including lead) that can leach from drinking water devices to potable water, they went above and beyond the requirements mandated by NSF/ANSI 61. Therefore, both Elkay and Halsey Taylor water coolers, drinking fountains and remote chillers have been AB 1953 compliant years ahead of the curve.
   “Our products, which are in a PEX material, were lead free even before they had to comply. The wetted surfaces are compliant as well,” said Maribel Pagan, marketing communications manager for John Guest in Fairfield, N.J. “We do have four parts that are brass, that are more of an ancillary product to the plumbing industry that will be released by the end of the year in no-lead brass. 
   “John Guest is a very progressive company and we have always reinvested in research and development and kept the safety of the end user and the community in mind. For the past 20-plus years that we’ve been in the U.S., our products have been sold into the potable water market, they’ve ensured that all of their products have been complaint with all of the water safety regulations and made of FDA-approved materials.”
   Brewster, N.Y, based distributor Matco-Norca developed a separate “green” for compliant products, because it will be offering dual product inventories for states with and without lead content requirements. The program will include a new “green” logo, specification sheets and marketing materials, according to Corey Lowsky, director of marketing. All required brass valves, fittings and faucets will meet the .25 percent lead level required by California and Vermont. The company had a full line of compliant products well in advance of the Jan. 1 deadline.
   AB 1953 “ended up as opportunity not just to comply with the lead legislation in California, but also to make some fundamental changes in the way the product worked to enhance performance, durability and quality,” said Delta Faucet Co.’s Rick Roetken, vice president of marketing. He estimates that two thirds of the Indianapolis-based company’s plumbing products were affected by the lead legislation. 
   “We took the approach to step back and really rethink the product and we brought out DIAMOND-Seal technology, changed the valving, the waterways and the way you connect and install it, to try and drive a much more broad-based benefit than just complying with the lead legislation,” Roetken said. “We’ve dramatically reduced the opportunity for leaks, simplified the installation process, and increased the durability of the product. We have about two years of history with the product now so it’s not just hitting the market at compliance deadline.

Many of Taco's current line of hydronic and domestic water circulators and other accessories are now available in stainless steel. Photo courtesy of Taco.

Fundamentally what Delta opted to do was remove contact with the metal rather than change the metal composite using low lead content brass in a few items where this was impractical. “Rather than have the water flow through a metal body, we lined the waterway with a PEX material, so once inside the faucet core, the water is never in contact with metal.” Delta’s compliant products are indicated by a check mark on the company’s Web site and in its 2010 catalog.
   Probably the biggest challenge over the past six months has been communication with customers, and also downstream with the builders, plumbers and retailers that needed to understand what the implications were on their business, Roetken said. “Delta conducted its first training sessions for its sales force in 2007 so we had an opportunity to preempt the dialog; we were trying to get the message out that early, specifically in California, a little bit later in Vermont.” 
   Zurn Engineered Water Systems, Sanford, N.C., which produces a full commercial line including bubblers and faucets for such venues as schools, office buildings and airports, will run two product lines—a lead-free and standard line, said Jon Hubble, director of sales and marketing, commercial faucets. “We are designating our lead free products with a –XL. The goal was not just being compliant with the lead-free law, but ensuring we didn’t take away any of the quality from the product as well. A good breadth of our product line was available by the end of November, 2009, and we will continue through our product line into next year and by 2011 everything will be converted to lead-free.” 
   Obviously, Zurn agrees with the spirit of the law, Hubble added. “We’ve actually gone ahead and developed a lead-free sensor faucet, which will be available at the start of 2010, even though many have interpreted the law that these faucets are excluded, because a person could as easily drink out of a senor faucet or brush their teeth as easily as with a manual faucet.” On the company’s to-do- list for next year are applications not required right now, like the service sink in the janitor’s closet.

Matco-Norca’s lead free products, including valves, fittings, faucets and plumbing specialty items, are now available. Photo courtesy of Matco-Norca.

“To prepare for compliance with AB1953 and [Vermont’s] S 152, Symmons reviewed all of our existing designs and materials. We sourced new materials for our products that enable Symmons to meet the requirements associated with the lead free legislation. Not only do we require that our suppliers show proof of compliance with each shipment, but all of our compliant products are being tested by a third party organization” said Jeff Reilly, vice president of marketing for Symmons Industries in Braintree, Mass.
   “All of Symmons products intended to dispense water for human consumption at point of use are affected by this legislation. Therefore, on January 1, 2010, Symmons will offer complaint kitchen faucets, bathroom faucets and other end-use devices intended to convey or dispense water for cooking or drinking.” said Reilly.
   Taco Inc., in Cranston, R.I., has converted all products that could potentially be used in wetted surface situations—including circulators, valves and flanges—to compliant materials, said Nelson Rego, vice president of quality service. “As a small-to-medium sized company, we have the people and the size to react to things very quickly. If you are a lot bigger than us or a lot smaller, making this transition is a lot harder. The key for us—it’s not a quality thing, it’s not an engineering thing, it’s a company thing.”
   Rego echoed the comments of many in the industry that the end user needs to be made aware of the costs of compliance and that plumbers and contractors should be working closely with their suppliers to deal with the switchover from non-compliant inventory to compliant products. “They need to know what systems and policies are in place and get answers for all of their questions before the laws go into effect.”
   Now that these laws are going in effect, PMI is actively working to pass parallel legislation in other states and nationally, PMI’s Higgens said. “We were already successful in working with the Vermont legislature to harmonize acceptable lead levels there with that of California. A patchwork of varying product standards provides challenges for manufacturers, distribution channels, installers and consumers. The key to efficiency, economy and even, to some degree compliance, is harmonization.”