India announces the draft for regulating lead stabilizer in PVC pipes and fittings 
On September 13, 2019, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced a draft “Lead Stabilizer in Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipes and Fittings, Rules, 2019”. Manufactures and Importers of PVC pipes and fittings listed in Category A to C of the Schedule shall comply with lead extraction limits prescribed in the corresponding Indian Standards. Where the rule is published officially, the use of lead and lead compounds as stabilizers would be prohibited after the date specified.
- Category A: Use of PVC Pipes and Fittings for Potable Water Supply
- Category B: Use of PVC Pipes and Fittings in Agriculture and in Suction and Delivery Lines of Agricultural Pumps and Rain Water Systems
- Category C: Use of PVC Pipes and Fittings for Drainage and Sewerage System
Obligations of manufactures
- Obtain a licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) within a period of six months from the date of the rules as per “BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018”.
- Emboss the “Standard Mark” on all the PVC pipes and fitting in accordance with the specification provided in the licence issued by BIS.
- After the date specified in the Schedule, the use of lead and lead compounds as stabilizer shall be prohibited in manufacturing of PVC pipes and fittings.
- Category A：After one year from the date of publication of the Rules
- Category B：After three years from the date of publication of the Rules
- Category C：After four years from the date of publication of the Rules
Obligations of importers
- The import of PVC pipes and fittings manufactured with the use of lead and lead compounds as stabilizer shall be prohibited after the date specified in the Schedule.
Manufactures and importers shall emboss on the PVC pipes and fittings that the limit of lead is not exceeding the limit as prescribed in the Schedule. Also, All the PVC pipes and fittings manufactured and imported shall emboss the name and address of the manufacturer and importer, the date of manufacture and import, and the name of country of import.
The PVC pipes and fitting, covered in the rules, manufactured or imported into India before the date of publication shall be permitted for sale for next six months.
A nodal agency for the rules is the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Manufactures and importers must submit test results to CPCB and BIS for verification.
The draft can be downloaded from the following URL (in Hindi and English)
http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/212474.pdf
