On Dec. 17, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act. The act, which is effective in 2014, reduces the amount of lead that manufacturers of plumbing fixtures and components can include to 0.25 percent from eight percent.
Menomonee Falls-based Bradley Corp., a manufacturer of commercial and industrial washroom products, has worked for more than three years to mandate the new standard. The now makes lead-free high capacity brass valves and all of its valves for individual sink applications are made from plastic.
“Bradley has designed and manufactured innovative water-saving commercial plumbing products for 90 years, so our company naturally assumed a green philosophy early on,” says Jon Dommisse, Bradley’s director of marketing and product development. “Being an early adopter of manufacturing lead-free products goes hand-in-hand with our green manufacturing leadership, and will undoubtedly continue to play a big part in Bradley’s future.”
Barbara Higgens, executive director of Plumbing Manufacturing International, said the new standards will help manufacturers by creating universal standards for lead content.
“This bill harmonizes lead standards across the country,” she said. “These standards were already achieved in California, and in Maryland and Vermont through PMI’s active lobbying efforts. There is widespread support within the industry for this legislation, including the members of PMI, which make up 95% of all plumbing manufacturers.”
