April, 2009 --American Standard has begun production of solid-brass faucets that comply with new lead-free regulations.
All American Standard residential lavatory and kitchen faucets will contain less than one quarter of one percent (0.25%) total lead content by weighted average, the new lead-free standard required by California and Vermont by 2010.
"American Standard faucets have long used significantly less lead than other brands," explained Dave Meisner, vice president and general manager of American Standard. "Through an innovative new brass alloy formulation that utilizes bismuth, the new faucets will have less lead while maintaining our hallmark quality, performance, and unmatched style."
American Standard
Bismuth, used for many years in pharmaceuticals, pigments and cosmetics, has similar properties to lead including the ease of precise machining and the ability to form a water-tight seal. American Standard will use bismuth as a substitute for lead in order to meet California's AB1953 lead-free standard.
Metal vs. Plastic According to Meisner, American Standard product engineers chose to modify the metal composition of its brass alloy, rather than turn to plastic components, to preserve the historic integrity and quality of its faucets.
"For more than a century, homeowners have chosen American Standard faucets for a style that works better," said Meisner, who credits the Company's commitment to brass casting technology, a more expensive, but superior manufacturing process.
"Where other manufacturers substitute plastic for metal, American Standard has always relied on the durability and dependable operation that metal provides the faucet structure."
He noted four key advantages that brass waterways offer over plastic in faucet construction:
The manufacturer anticipates that the lead-free faucets would be available nationwide early in the second quarter of 2009. State Lead Legislation American Standard's new metal formulation complies with recent legislation in California and Vermont that will take effect on January 1, 2010.
Unlike existing safeguards, such as the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that limit the amount of minerals that can be leached into the drinking water, California's AB1953 and Vermont's S152 focus on the amount of lead used in the manufacture of faucet components.
"Before state legislation prompted manufacturers to retool their production process, the average faucet leached the lead equivalent of a 1/4 teaspoon of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool," explained Meisner.
In fact, a 2006 study by the American Waterworks Association Research Foundation concluded that faucet lead levels in the United States leach less than 2 parts per billion (ppb), far below the 11 ppb limits set forth in the SDWA.
"The SDWA addressed the true public health concern -- how much lead is ingested in our nation's drinking water -- back in 1974," concluded Meisner. "Now with our faucets' total lead content comprising less than one quarter of one percent (0.25%) by weighted average, our public safety dialogue should shift to our aging infrastructure, which is the main source of trace amounts of lead in the water supply."
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Note: The term lead-free is defined by California AB1953. It applies to all faucets that contain less than one quarter of one percent (0.25%) total lead content by weighted average. ABOUT AMERICAN STANDARD BRANDS American Standard Brands is a leading North American manufacturer of a wide range of high quality kitchen and bath products including faucets, fixtures, furniture, vitreous china fixtures, cast iron sinks, whirlpool tubs and other related products. The company currently serves both the residential and commercial markets, employs more than 8,000 people in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and markets products under the American Standard®, Crane®, Eljer®, Porcher®, Jado® and Fiat® brands. American Standard Brands is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners with a minority interest held by Bain Capital Partners, Inc.