Committee hears competing health and industry views on lead-in-cookware bill

The Environment & Energy Committee heard a staff briefing and more than two hours of testimony on Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5628, a proposal to change Washington’s recent law limiting lead in cookware. Committee staff outlined the bill’s key changes, proponents urged strong limits to protect children, and manufacturers and retailers warned the current drafting could force some producers out of the state.

The bill would amend last year’s cookware restriction (House Bill 1551) by raising the maximum allowable total lead limit from 5 parts per million to 10 parts per million, explicitly include utensils and griddles, and exclude certain large appliances and inaccessible components. It also directs the Department of Ecology to issue guidance to manufacturers and others subject to the law.

Supporters told the committee that contaminated cookware is a preventable source of harmful lead exposure, especially to children, and that a total-content standard is clear and enforceable. Industry representatives and some retailers said the bill’s scope and testing approach need more work to avoid unintended economic consequences for Washington manufacturers and sellers.

Jacob Lipson, committee staff, summarized the bill and the 2024 law’s background, saying the earlier law “established a maximum allowable limit of lead of 5 parts per million” and that Ecology “has the authority to lower that 5 part per million threshold” through future rulemaking. He told members the engrossed substitute to be discussed would raise the…