The physical properties of lead-free alloys are important in material selection and installation.
For decades, lead has been used around the world as an essential element in the production of brass and bronze plumbing fittings and fixtures. In 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency amended the Safe Drinking Water Act under which any drinking water in contact with plumbing products such as pipe, solders and copper alloys (brass and bronze) used in fittings, faucets and lavatory fixtures with greater than 8% lead were no longer allowed. Products containing less than 8% were defined by the SDWA as “lead-free.”
The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, which was signed into law in January 2011, modifies the definition of “lead-free” in the SDWA, effective January 2014. The maximum lead content has been reduced to a weighted average of 0.25% for pipe, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures.