 |
 |
|
lead wheel weights and is given alternative wheel balancing choices then there will be a decrease in lead entering the environment. It is important that we make sure that the water we drink and the air we breathe is free of lead." TEAM DEAD WEIGHT SETTING NATIONWIDE STAGE: lead wheel weights being phased out for steel Posted on Sep 18, 2009 by Meredith Hines-Dochterman.
No one told Mike Brown to stop using
lead wheel weights. He did because it made sense. Brown, owner of Iowa City Tire and
Dodge Street Tire, phased out the use of lead weights earlier this year, replacing
them with steel. Wheel weights are clipped to tire
rims to balance the tires and prevent vibration at high speeds. Lead weights
are favored because they are cheap, heavy and easy to work with. They’re also dangerous to the
environment. Lead weights falling off tire rims
are one of the largest ongoing releases of lead into the environment, according
to students Brennan Nelson, Justin Roth, and Jathan Kron. The three are members
of Team DeadWeight. The students won the first ever
Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge in May. All three were in Hector
Ibarra’s Team DeadWeight encourages motorists
and tire dealerships to switch to steel wheel weights. The project led to the
ban of lead weights in West Branch city and school vehicles, and inspired Brown
to follow suit. It also garnered support among state legislators. “You couldn’t come up with a more
honest broker than a middle school student,” said Rep. Nate Willems, D-Lisbon. Three bills regarding lead wheel
weights stalled in last year’s legislative session, but the students hope for a
different outcome this year. And this time they have national backing.
Iowa City Tire Employee JC Thornton
of Team DeadWeight visited the United
Nations headquarters in Team DeadWeight was among those
credited for igniting the change. “It’s exciting to know that our
project has gone as far as the national level,” Nelson said. Four states — Those in favor of the ban emphasize
environmental benefits. Those against stress finances. Steel costs more than lead — about
20-cents per weight — so there is a price to making the switch, Kron said. The
Iowa Automobile Dealers Association lobbied against the ban saying the impact
would be immediate and costly. While the association’s legislative committee
has not met to discuss their stance on this year’s issues, President Gary
Thomas said the group recognizes the benefit of steel weights. “We would need a little lead time to
be able to react,” he said. “A phase in makes sense.” Brown is the first tire business
owner in “I’d like to see it so that other
people do it not because people are telling them to, but because it’s the right
thing to do,” Brown said. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW COPY OF ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLE. Lead vs. steel
Posted on Sep 25, 2009 by Jeff Tecklenburg
Cedar Rapids Gazette Momentum is building to ban the use of lead tire weights for balancing
wheels. Four states have such bans. What’s the big deal? Well, nationwide, 2,000 tons of the little lead weights fall off wheel rims
every year and become a health hazard to wildlife and people. Lead’s toxicity
led to a 1991 national ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunters. Follow-up
studies showed a two-thirds reduction in lead-poisoning deaths of ducks within
the first five years. Steel or even zinc weights are regarded as a safe replacement, but lead is
cheaper and easier to work with. Is the trade-off worth it? An award-winning team of research students at West Branch seems to think so.
Team DeadWeight inspired Dropping lead is the right thing to do. We’d prefer to see a national ban
before a state ban, phased in so all affected businesses have reasonable time
and a level playing field to make the change. |
Science research team "Dead Weight" recognizes the
need to protect the public from exposure to lead hazards.
There are no federal regulatory controls governing use of lead
wheel weights. Environmental health hazards associated with lead
wheel weights are a preventable problem. People are exposed to
lead fragments and dust when lead wheel weights fall from motor
vehicles onto the nation's roadways and are then abraded and
pulverized by traffic. Lead wheel weights on and alongside roadways
can contribute to soil, surface and groundwater contamination and
pose hazards to downstream aquatic life.
Lead negatively affects every bodily system. While it is
injurious to people of all ages, lead is especially harmful to
fetuses,children, and adults of childbearing age. Effects of lead
on a child's cognitive, behavioral, and developmental abilities may
necessitate large expenditures of public funds for health care and
special education. Irreversible damage to children and subsequent
expenditures could be avoided if exposure to lead is reduced.
"Save the earth from pollution with a 'green' smart energy solution." COPYRIGHT SMARTENERGY4KIDS.ORG 2008-2009. All Rights Reserved. |
