EPA Decides Not to Proceed with Proposing Lead Wheel Weight Rulemaking
Published Dec. 20, 2024
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will not initiate a proposed rulemaking addressing the manufacture, processing, or distribution in commerce of lead for wheel-balancing weights (“lead wheel weights”) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), after reviewing the information submitted in response to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) issued in April 2024, and EPA’s technical analysis thereof. EPA’s analysis shows that risks to children from lead wheel weights are significantly lower than described in the petition EPA received on this issue in 2009. Specifically, EPA estimates that dust from lead wheel weights represents an extremely small fraction of a child’s overall residential lead exposure, even if the residence is near busy roads. EPA also found that since the petition was filed, nine U.S. states and Canada have banned lead wheel weights, and EPA was informed that vehicle manufacturers no longer install lead wheel weights on new vehicles sold in the U.S.
Lead wheel weights are used to correct imbalances in the weight distribution of motor vehicle wheels. Lead is a component of many existing wheel weights, though alternatives such as steel, zinc alloy and plastic-metal composite are now widely available, and according to information received by EPA, lead wheel weights are no longer used on new vehicles in the United States. Lead wheel weights that separate from vehicle wheels or are not disposed of properly may be worn down into fine particles by traffic. Lead particles may then be released into the air as part of roadway dust and migrate to nearby homes. Children living nearby can be exposed if they ingest lead particles in soil or dust.
In April 2024, EPA issued an ANPRM requesting public comment and information on the use and exposure to lead from the manufacture (including importing), processing, distribution in commerce, use, and disposal of lead wheel weights, as well as information on their substitute. This ANPRM was in response to a settlement agreement with a group of non-governmental organizations that had petitioned EPA to regulate lead wheel weights in 2009. However, EPA did not receive additional data in response to the ANPRM that the agency hadn’t already considered that could be used to inform its technical analysis to support a proposed rulemaking.
EPA’s preliminary assessment shows extremely low risk associated with roadside exposure of lead wheel weights, even when making conservative assumptions. For example, EPA used studies that pre-date manufacturer phase out of lead wheel weights, and likely overestimate the frequency of lead wheel weight use in the U.S. EPA also received a comment from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, who represent automakers that produce and sell approximately 95% of the new light-duty vehicles in the United States. After surveying their members, they found that none of their original equipment manufacturers use lead wheel weights on new vehicles manufactured or distributed to dealerships in the United States.
EPA is committed to protecting all people from lead with an emphasis on high-risk communities as outlined in the EPA Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities and as reflected in EPA’s announcement that “Lead and Lead Compounds” is on its list of candidate chemical substances currently being considered for future prioritization actions under TSCA.
Learn more about EPA’s decision.