A new bill (SB1260) introduced in California on Feb. 18 suggests creating restrictions on the use of zinc or zinc oxide in tires in the state. This legislation could in turn ban the sale of tires containing a specific amount of zinc.

The tire industry is the largest market of zinc oxide; in tire manufacturing, zinc or zinc oxide is used during the curing process as a catalyst. The bill argues that zinc and certain alloys of zinc are toxic to many microscopic and aquatic organisms when zinc is released into the environment and enters streams, rivers and marine areas. The bill further states that outdoor rubber materials and outdoor zinc surfaces are the most prevalent zinc sources in the environment.

The bill states that on or after Jan. 1 of an unspecified year, the legislation would “prohibit manufacturers, as defined, from selling or offering for sale onroad motor vehicle tires, or motor vehicles with those tires, if the tires contain zinc in excess of an unspecified percentage by weight. The bill would authorize manufacturers to apply to the Department of Toxic Substances Control to delay the prohibition as to specific uses of its onroad motor vehicle tires.”

Additionally, manufacturers could face hefty fines up to $10,000 per violation and the bill would “require manufacturers of motor vehicle tires, in developing new tire formulations, to screen potential alternatives to the use of zinc, using the Toxics Information Clearinghouse to identify potential impacts of the alternatives on public health and the environment,” according to the bill.

Zinc oxide producers and others opposing the legislation, argue the bill is based on faulty premises and projections of zinc levels in California waterways, many of which are near larger non-tire related sources of zinc.