Bill > SB5628

This bill updates Washington state's regulations on lead content in aluminum and brass cookware, utensils, and cookware components by establishing progressively stricter limits on lead concentrations. The bill defines new terms like "aluminum or brass cookware" and "aluminum or brass utensils" and sets two-phase lead content restrictions: first limiting lead to 90 parts per million (ppm) starting January 1, 2026, and then reducing that limit to 10 ppm beginning January 1, 2028. Manufacturers are prohibited from producing and selling cookware, utensils, or components that exceed these lead limits, and retailers cannot knowingly sell such items. The bill includes protections for retailers who unknowingly sell restricted products and exempts casual sales and sales by nonprofit organizations. After December 2030, the Department of Ecology, in consultation with the Department of Health, may further reduce the lead limit if they determine it is technologically feasible and necessary to protect human health, particularly for vulnerable populations. The bill also clarifies that these new provisions do not limit the department's existing authority to regulate lead in cookware under other state laws.