wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5975 > Substitute Bill

SB 5975 - Safe cookware

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Section 1

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

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    1. "Aluminum or brass cookware" means the following items when made of brass or aluminum: Pots, pans, kettles, griddles, grills, internal pots for devices such as rice cookers or pressure cookers, and similar vessels or surfaces in or on which food is cooked.

    2. "Aluminum or brass cookware" does not include:

      1. Items with only an internal layer of aluminum or brass that is enclosed by stainless steel; or

      2. The electrical components of electronic cooking devices and the body of electronic cooking devices with removable cooking containers, such as slow cookers, rice cookers, and pressure cookers.

  2. "Aluminum or brass cookware component" means cookware parts made of aluminum or brass such as lids, rivets, fasteners, valves, and vent pipes.

  3. "Aluminum or brass utensils" means tools made from aluminum or brass such as knives, forks, spoons, spatulas, and similar tools used for preparing, serving, or eating food, unless enclosed by stainless steel.

  4. "Department" means the Washington state department of ecology.

  5. "Manufacturer" means any person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, or joint venture that produces a product or is an importer or domestic distributor of a product sold or offered for sale in or into the state.

  6. "Vulnerable populations" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010.

Section 2

  1. Beginning January 1, 2027, no manufacturer may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or an aluminum or brass cookware component containing lead that has been intentionally added.

  2. Beginning January 1, 2026, no manufacturer may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or an aluminum or brass cookware component containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than

90 parts per million, beginning January 1, 2026

, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2026.

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    1. No retailer or wholesaler may knowingly sell or knowingly offer for sale for use in this state aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or an aluminum or brass cookware component containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than

90 parts per million, beginning January 1, 2026

, for items manufactured on or after January 1, 2026.

b. Retailers or wholesalers who unknowingly sell products that are restricted from sale under this chapter are not liable under this chapter.

c. The sale or purchase of any previously owned aluminum or brass cookware, aluminum or brass utensils, or aluminum or brass cookware components containing lead made in casual or isolated sales as defined in RCW 82.04.040, or by a nonprofit organization, is exempt from this chapter.
  1. Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the department with respect to lead in cookware, cookware components, or utensils under chapter 70A.350 RCW. Any regulatory determination made by the department under chapter 70A.350 RCW with regard to lead in aluminum or brass cookware, cookware components, or utensils supersedes the 90 parts per million limits established in this section.

Section 3

  1. For the purposes of the regulatory process established in this chapter, cookware containing lead is a priority consumer product. The department must evaluate lead in cookware as a priority product beginning with the June 1, 2029, review cycle established under RCW 70A.350.050(2)(b). For this priority product, the department must determine regulatory actions and adopt rules by June 1, 2032, to implement those regulatory determinations consistent with the process established in RCW 70A.350.040 and 70A.350.050. In determining regulatory actions under this section, the department must:

    1. Adopt a lead limit of either 10 parts per million or the lowest lead limit that is feasible and available based on data obtained during the review; and

    2. Consider to the extent feasible, the entire life of the cookware product, including when surfaces become damaged, scratched, or heavily used. The department may also consider end-of-life management and recyclability of the product.

  2. The department must order cookware manufacturers to provide data regarding lead levels in their products, in accordance with RCW 70A.350.040(2) and to the extent practicable, make the data publicly available. Manufacturers that fail to comply with an order to provide data are subject to penalties pursuant to RCW 70A.350.070. In assessing a penalty, the department must consider each product covered by an order as a separate offense.

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