Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2021-08-19 Origin: Site
On September 20, 2006, the State of California passed a new plumbing product ordinance：California Assembly Bill 1953 (AB1953), which is an amendment to the California Health and Safety Code and became effective on January 1, 2010. And this ordinance has also started to be implemented in 9 states in the United States, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. Products that do not pass the AB1953 test approval will not be able to be sold in California and other nine states.
This legislation, also known as the "California Plumbing Products Lead Content Ordinance," applies to all equipment used to provide drinking or cooking water to the public, like kitchen faucets, bar faucets, bathroom sink faucets, drinking fountains, and any other end-use valves, pipes, fittings, and other water supply devices, whether commercial or domestic, that are installed to distribute water for human consumption, must meet the lead content standards required by this legislation.
In the existing regulations, the lead-free standard is: in pipes and their supporting equipment, the content of lead should not exceed 8%, and in water pipes and their supporting equipment, the content of lead should not exceed 4%. The new regulation adjusts the original "lead-free" standard for products related to drinking water supply systems, and adopts weighting concentration control instead of simple concentration control, according to which: "The content of lead in solder and flux used in piping products shall not be higher than 0.2%, and in piping products and fittings, the lead content in their water contact parts must not exceed 0.25% according to the prescribed formula." Manufacturers must provide documentation through a third-party organization to prove that the tested products meet the AB1953 regulatory standards.
Lead-free means that no one could use plumbing products and their fittings which solders and fluxes with excessive lead content in the installation or repair of public water systems, any plumbing for drinking water or kitchen water.
No one could bring into the distribution of goods plumbing products and fittings containing lead in excess of the standard.
No one other than the manufacturer could store or sell welders or fluxes for plumbing products with excessive lead content.
Provide product information, establish cost and quote
Fill out and submit the certification application form
Send samples to an IAPMO-accredited laboratory for testing, and submit a test report after passing the test
After evaluation, if the product meets the requirements of AB1953, the applicant is granted a separate certificate of certification
Continuous Factory Audit
The certificate is valid for 1 year and can be renewed 3 months before the expiration date by paying the annual fee for the following year and undergoing regular factory audits by the IAPMO organization.
*P.S.: Currently there are also corresponding low lead standard requirements in other U.S. states, such as: Vermont Act 193, Maryland HB372, Louisiana HB471, NSF Agency NSF/ANSI 372, and Federal Senate Bill S3847
