Manufacturers, Retailers to Put the Brakes on Use of Lead Wheel Weights
Tire companies, big box stores, and the government
are putting the brakes on the use of lead wheel weights. Through EPA's
National Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative, partners have agreed to
phase-in the use of lead-free alternative wheel weights and reduce the
amount of lead released into the environment by 2011.
"Our partners have pledged to reduce or eliminate their use of lead
wheel weights," said Susan Parker Bodine, assistant administrator of
EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "Their efforts will
remove millions of pounds of lead from the environment and the waste
stream."
Eliminating lead wheel weights is a significant step toward reducing
the overall amount of lead released into the environment. EPA estimates
that 50 million pounds of lead per year are used for wheel weights in
cars and light trucks. It is common for wheel weights to come off when
a vehicle hits a pothole in the road or stops suddenly, which results
in lead entering the environment. Lead-containing wheel weights also
add lead into the environment as they move into the waste stream at the
end of product life.
The charter members include Firestone Complete Auto Care; Firestone
Racing (a division of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire);
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.; Costco Wholesale; Wal-Mart Tire and Lube
Express; Sam's Club Tire and Battery Centers; Wal-Mart Transportation;
Hennessy Industries Inc.-BADA Division; Perfect Equipment; 3M
Automotive Division; the U.S. Air Force; U.S. Postal Service; General
Services Administration; Ford Motor Co.; General Motors Corp.;
Chrysler; Plombco; the Association of International Automobile
Manufacturers; the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia; the Ecology Center;
Sierra Club; the Environmental Council of States and several small
businesses.
For more information, visit www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/nlfwwi.htm.