Legislation (S.B. 1260) that threatened to prohibit tire manufacturers from selling onroad tires if the tires contained zinc in excess of an unspecified percentage and assessed a civil penalty on manufacturers who violate the prohibition was amended to remove all reference to tires and zinc. The bill now only requires the State Water Resources Control Board to include as part of its guidance a list of potential funding sources available to a public agency to fund projects identified in a public agency’s stormwater resource plan.
Zinc oxide is used in tire manufacturing as a catalyst in the curing process to increase durability. Banning zinc oxide in tires would require extensive changes in tire composition that could affect tire safety.