Challenge
OGR was hired by a leading manufacturer of engineered glass beads used in highway markings that was starting to see competition from foreign suppliers. In many cases, the foreign imports contained high concentrations of lead and arsenic. The U.S. manufactured glass bead industry wanted to see a federal standard that would limit the lead and arsenic for beads used on federal highway projects.
Strategy
OGR targeted key House and Senate members and had bipartisan bills introduced in both houses. Presenting this issue as a worker safety and environmental initiative, we advanced the bills with support from environmental groups and labor organizations and worked to get the provision included in the underlying language of the transportation reauthorization act (TEA-21).
Results
Language establishing a standard limiting lead and arsenic content was included in TEA-21 and is now federal law.