WorldWide Drilling Resource

74 AUGUST 2013 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Time is Running Out to Get the Lead Out! Adapted from Information by Boshart Industries, Inc. It may still seem like 2014 is a long way off. Not so, the countdown has start- ed and the deadline will be here before you know it! It’s time to take care of business so you are ready for the effective date of January 4, 2014, at which time Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act redefines “lead free” in the Safe Drinking Water Act through Bill S.3874. It will now limit the maximum content of lead in plumbing devices to a weighted aver- age lead content of 0.25% or less. This law will not only prohibit wholesalers, distributors, manufactur- ers, and importers from selling leaded plumbing fittings and fixtures, but will %1=:;-*@ $.526*:; 74/ %7=:6*5.6< **6- %.?*; 74-B.5 "73.: %7=:6*5.6< :2-*@ %:*-. $17> ":7-=,< $87<4201<; $24.6< =,<276 *6- >*:-; *69=.< $*<=:-*@ $.526*:; =6,1.76 ! % !# #!& ( % # $$! % ! % !&# % ! <<1 & ! ' % ! %# $ !( !,<7+.: A ".88.:5244 #.;7:< $8* *;267 # ! ' # $% # ! >>> 0:7=6-1 7 7:0 ! % % ) ( ! % ! also prohibit the installation of prod- ucts not meeting the new standard. Canada has also changed the def- inition of lead free. The ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and CSA (Canadian Standards Association) Standards Committees addressed the lead-free issue by proposing an amend- ment to the materials section of the stan- dard to reflect the new 0.25% weighted average lead content requirement. The key revision changes the cur- rent lead content requirement from not more than 8%, down to not more than a weighted average of 0.25% lead. ASME A112.18-2012/CSA B125.1-12 has been published with clause #4.9.3 which reads, Fittings intended to con- vey or dispense water for human con- sumption through drinking or cooking shall not contain a weighted average lead content in excess of 0.25% when evaluated in accordance with the test method in BSF/ANSI 372 . The effective date for the Canadian Plumbing Code is December 31, 2013.