Getting the Lead Out - Lead wheel weights are sinking under new rules and new technology. - Motor Age - Automotive training, certification & parts info
This Quick Plate adjusts to fit different size bolt patterns with the turn of a dial. Bolt plates are essential for balancing
bolt-centric wheels.
The automotive industry began phasing out lead wheel balance weights in 2003. Progress toward eliminating them completely
has been uneven, but there is progress, and you should be seeing changes in your shop already.
The goal of eliminating lead wheel weights is an outgrowth of regulations enacted in Europe in September of 2000. Called the
ELV Directive (2000/53/EC), these regulations are aimed at "reduction and control of hazardous substances in vehicles, in
order to prevent their release into the environment." The directive is focused on reducing the environmental impact of motor
vehicles at the end of their service life by, among other things, eliminating certain materials used to build the vehicle.
"In particular, the use of lead (and other heavy metals) should be prohibited."
This expanding collet not only fits a wide range of wheels, it's also less susceptible to wear.
Although lead constitutes only about 4 percent (by weight) of the average vehicle, its significant impact on human health
makes it a primary target of the directive. But the regulators took a realistic approach. Planned revisions to the regulations
in 2003 exempted certain parts made with lead alloys, like engine bearings, because they can't be recovered economically.
While lead battery clamps are banned, lead-acid batteries are exempt until there is a better alternative, and also because
battery lead is relatively easy to recover during vehicle salvage. But lead wheel weights are a different matter. They're
easy enough to recover, but only if they make it to the salvage yard.
Here in the U.S., an oft-cited peer-reviewed study published in 2000 by Robert Root, a senior research scientist (retired)
from the Battelle Memorial Institute, found that lead pollution from wheel weights "is continuous, significant, and widespread,
and is potentially a major source of human lead exposure." His research indicated that lead wheel weights dropped on city
streets are quickly ground into tiny particles that are easily washed into storm drains and then into local water supplies.
His measurements showed that one year of lead accumulation at one specific intersection in his home town "would exceed the
federal lead hazard guidelines by more than 10,000 times."
Static imbalance (left) is more critical than couple imbalance (center), because the suspension is designed to move in that
direction. Imagine how hard the shock absorber is working (right) to dampen static imbalance.
A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2006 estimates there was about 65,000 tons of lead wheel weights in use
in this country in 2003. Most of that lead was on vehicles, but about 18,000 tons of weights were in service shops ready for
installation. About 3,000 tons of weights was recovered at salvage yards. But the important figure is the amount of lead wheel
weights estimated to be lost on U.S. roads that year: about 2,000 tons. Two thousand tons a year may not seem like a large
number, especially when compared to the annual release of other known hazardous materials. But Root's conclusions about how
the lead in wheel weights enters populated environments has had a major effect on the issue.
The European Union banned lead wheel weights as original equipment in 2003 and banned them from the aftermarket in 2005. The
Japanese government asked its auto industry to reduce its use of lead, so Japanese and Korean manufacturers voluntarily stopped
using lead wheel weights by 2005. There are no federal regulations here in the United States, but the EPA has launched a voluntary
National Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative. In addition, non-government environmental groups are taking legal action in several
states, hoping to convince them to ban lead wheel weights. Their efforts bore fruit earlier this year in California.
Jacques Gordon, technical editor, joined the Motor Age team in April 1998 with almost 30 years of automotive experience. He worked for 10 years in dealerships and independent repair shops, specializing in European cars. He later moved to a dyno-lab environment with companies such as Fel-Pro, Robert Bosch, and Johnson-Matthey Catalyst Systems Division. From there, Jacques joined Chilton Book Co, writing diagnostic and repair procedures before joining Motor Age.
Articles by Jacques Gordon
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