{"id":2123438,"date":"2026-09-01T22:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2123438"},"modified":"2026-09-01T22:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:25:00","slug":"why-california-bans-lead-wheel-weights-and-what-tire-shops-use-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2123438","title":{"rendered":"Why California Bans Lead Wheel Weights And What Tire Shops Use Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"columns-holder\">\n<div class=\"add-on-google-widget\">\n<div class=\"add-on-google-heading\">Add Jalopnik on Google:<\/div>\n<div class=\"add-on-google-buttons-row\">\n                        <button type=\"button\" class=\"add-on-google-btn\" id=\"preferred-source\">Preferred Source<\/button><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/profile.google.com\/cp\/Cg0vZy8xMXBneTRxX2Zw\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"add-on-google-btn\" id=\"google-discover\">Google Discover<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"columns-holder \">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Despite being used by humans\u00a0since around 6500 BC, lead has been the subject of numerous bans over the last century or so, after science found out how much of a health hazard it really is. Its toxicological impacts are immense, so it&#8217;s good that society has done so wherever possible. But aside from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jalopnik.com\/leaded-gasoline-may-have-caused-boom-in-anxiety-depres-1851713449\/\" target=\"_blank\">leaded gasoline, which may have caused a boom<\/a> in a myriad of psychiatric disorders before it was banned, one of the most common everyday uses of lead since the advent of the automobile is in wheel weights \u2014 you know, to compensate for those <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jalopnik.com\/ever-notice-those-red-and-yellow-dots-on-your-tires-he-1851757732\/\" target=\"_blank\">red and yellow dots on your tires<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But weirdly, despite California being well-known for\u00a0its Proposition 65, the state\u00a0didn&#8217;t ban lead from being used for wheel weights until 2010.\u00a0Also weird: As of 2023, only eight other states have similar bans on their books. For something so widespread\u00a0\u2013 and far more common than using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jalopnik.com\/1958158\/how-tire-balancing-beads-work\/\" target=\"_blank\">tire balancing beads<\/a> \u2014 you&#8217;d think wheel weights would be an easy place to ban lead.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">California Health and Safety Code Sections 25215.6-25215.7, which took effect on January 1st, 2010, ban any wheel weights with more than 0.1 percent lead in them \u2013\u00a0leave it to the\u00a0Golden State to get quite specific here. The fine for being caught using lead wheel weights is also quite steep. But why does California ban lead wheel weights, and what do tire shops use instead? It has to do with how they leach this immensely toxic substance into the environment, and \u2014 to no surprise to anyone \u2014 there are several safer substitutes out there.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"columns-holder \">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The main reason for targeting wheel weights is that they can easily become dislodged from their round homes \u2014 either from age, potholes, big bumps, or any number of other causes \u2014 and are then out there in the wild. Passing traffic wears them down, spreading lead further, and once met with rain or anything else to expedite their journey into groundwater, it becomes a real environmental health hazard.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Before California&#8217;s ban took place, the EPA estimated that half a million pounds of lead were introduced into the environment from cars&#8217; and trucks&#8217; wheel weights every year in this single state alone \u2014 yikes (via <a href=\"https:\/\/dtsc.ca.gov\/dtsc-website-archive\/about-lead-wheel-weights\/\" target=\"_blank\">Department of Toxic Substances Control<\/a>).\u00a0What took the place of lead in wheel weights in California? Well, seemingly anything is better than lead, but steel, copper, and zinc are common nowadays.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The exact language behind California&#8217;s law is interesting. Any vehicle manufactured on or after the law went into effect and sold in-state must have lead-free wheel weights; then, any car made in 2009 or earlier must have its lead wheel weights replaced with lead-free units when its tires are changed or rebalanced. If any shop uses their old leaded stock in this day and age (though it&#8217;s been 16 years at this point) and is caught, the fine can reach $2,500 (via DTSC). California bans lead wheel weights to improve the environment for all living creatures within its boundaries. Plus, it&#8217;s pretty darn easy for tire shops to use steel, zinc, or copper in its place.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add Jalopnik on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover Despite being used by humans\u00a0since around 6500 BC, lead has been the subject of numerous bans over the last century or so, after science found out how much of a health hazard it really is. Its toxicological impacts are immense, so it&#8217;s good that society has done [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,247],"class_list":["post-2123438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-jalopnik-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2123438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123438\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2123438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2123438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2123438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}