California Bill Would Ban Lead-Bearing Materials For Glass Bottle Decoration

The California Senate has introduced a bill that would ban the use of lead-bearing colors for glass bottles distributed in the state. The bill, SB 774, Ridley-Thomas, would apply to decorating materials that contained lead or lead compounds in excess of 0.06% Pb by weight. This would invalidate the section of the state's TPCH legislation which allowed the use of lead-bearing enamels for decoration if the bottle were to pass a TCLP test. The TCLP exemption, which was included in the state's packaging legislation after consultation with the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH) & SGCD, will expire in 2010.