ABB Will Phase Out Water Meters with Lead

According to the terms of a settlement that became official on December 9, ABB Water Meters Inc. of Ocala, FL, has 90 days to stop selling its lead-containing meters in Glendale and Pasadena, CA. The replacement instruments, which are virtually lead-free, will be more expensive, according to company officials.

The settlement, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, does not require the company to replace water meters now in place.

The settlement grew out of a lawsuit brought by the Environmental Law Foundation and the Natural Resources Defense Council against ABB and five other companies. The other companies, responsible for the bulk of the meters sold in California, so far have not agreed to settle, said ELF's president.

The lawsuit contends that, up to now, water meters sold in California have leached lead from 50 to several hundred times the maximum safe limit of 0.5 ppb set by state law. The lead released also reportedly exceeds a more lenient national standard, used in 41 states, developed by the U.S. EPA.

ABB's California market share is said to be relatively small, accounting for just 30,000 of the several hundred thousand meters used throughout the state. An ABB executive said that, with the settlement, the company hopes to expand its California market.

Fines from settlements have helped finance a study now underway to determine if any other plumbing components contribute to lead in the California's drinking water.