ELYRIA, Ohio — State laws in California and Washington requiring a reduction of the amount of copper allowed in brake friction materials beginning in 2021 is being applauded by truck component manufacturers.

Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake says the laws protect waterways from the runoff of toxic copper brake dust.

The company, whose lineup of foundation drum brakes meets the new state mandates, says all its drum brake linings and most air disc brakes contain less than 5 percent copper.

The California law mandates that brakes contain no more than 5 percent copper beginning in 2021. By 2025, the limit will be reduced to 0.5 percent. Washington’s law is similar, with a 5 percent limit by 2021, and the establishment of an advisory committee to assess the feasibility of lowering the limit to 0.5 percent in subsequent years.

Bendix says it is working to reduce the copper content in the small percentage of its disc brake solutions that would not be compliant to the future 2021 regulation.

Disc brakes are semi-metallic and pose a greater compliance challenge for all manufacturers, the company says.