January 2009
EPA530-F-09-001
NATIONAL
                                               WHEEL WEIGHT
                                               INITIATIVE
Phase out use of lead
in the manufacture  of wheel
balancing weights for cars  and
light trucks
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging the source
reduction of lead in the manufacture, use and sale of wheel weights, thereby reducing the
release of one source of tea d into the environment.

Background

Each year, approximately 50 million pounds of lead are used to manufacture lead wheel weights in the United States.
This is a significant volume relative to all unregulated sources of lead. By working to replace lead wheel weights with
steel weights, EPA and its partners will be reducing the use of lead, a toxic metal.

Action

To achieve an accelerated transition away from the use of lead wheel weights, EPA has developed a National
Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative (NLFWWI). This Initiative was developed as a partnership among federal agencies,
states, wheel weight manufacturers, retailers, tire manufacturers, automobile trade associations and environmental-
ists to reduce the use of lead and encourage the use of an alternative, steel, in the manufacture and use of wheel
balancing weights.

The NLFWWI charter members include Bridgestone- Firestone Retail and Commercial Operations, LLC, Bridgestone-
Firestone Motor Car Racing Division, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, 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, Inc., 3M Automotive Division, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. EPA, General Services
Administration (GSA), new automobile manufacturers (e.g., Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Chrys-
ler), Plombco, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc., the Town of Blacksburg, VA, the Ecol-
ogy Center, Sierra Club, the Environmental Council of States and several small businesses.

For More Information
Other information on the NLFWWI can be found at the internet website at
http://www.epa. gov/epawaste/hazard/wastemin/nlfwwi.htm

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