New California Law Requires Use of ‘Lead-Free’ Plumbing Fixtures

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed AB 100 into law, requiring “lead-free” endpoint plumbing devices to meet a performance standard, NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2020, and preventing the sale in California of endpoint devices that leach more than 1 μg/L of lead.

Authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and co-authored by Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Visalia), AB 100 requires the following:

• Effective Jan. 1, 2023, a person is prohibited from manufacturing, and offering for sale in the state, an endpoint device, as defined, that does not meet NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2020
• Effective July 1, 2023, a person is prohibited from introducing into commerce or offering for sale in the state an endpoint device that does not meet that lead leaching standard
• Requires consumer-facing product packaging or product labeling of an endpoint device that’s intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption shall indicate that compliance with the lead-free standard by including the lettering “NSF/ANSI/CAN 61: Q ≤ 1” in an easily identifiable manner (consistent with NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 labeling requirements)
• Requires endpoint devices to be certified by an American National Standards Institute-accredited third party to show compliance with the lead-free requirements
• Defines an “endpoint device” as a single device, such as a plumbing fitting, fixture or faucet, that is typically installed within the last one liter of the water distribution system of a building

AB 100 codifies NSF/ANSI/CAN 61, Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects – the national consensus standard for plumbing devices. IAPMO R&T, an ANSI-accredited third-party premier certification agency for plumbing products, can provide certification services that will result in demonstrating compliance with California AB 100.

Building on the leadership from Plumbing Manufacturers International, IAPMO plans to help educate consumers, particularly those charged with drinking water remediation efforts in schools and child care facilities, on how best to understand and identify labeling on lead-free products.

For more information, visit www.iapmort.org.