Berkeys OUTLAWED in Kali-fluor-nia ! Better stock up...

Suspension of Sales To California Residents Begining January 1, 2010 18 Nov 2009

Dear Berkey® Water Dealer:

California, has adopted AB 1953 / SB 1334 & 1395 / HSC Section 116875. This revised “no lead law” as it’s commonly
known, goes into effect January 1, 2010. The law stipulates that any “end-use device intended to convey or dispense
water for human consumption through drinking or cooking,” as well as each of their individual components, materials
and “pipe, pipe or plumbing fittings, or fixtures,” or flux, must be “lead free” as defined by California law. Under SB
1334, certification MUST be performed by an “independent ANSI-approved third party testing organization.” It appears
that even if a product and each component of that product has no metal alloys and if a purification system actually
reduces lead, under Section 116875, it must be be certified. An example of this is our sport water purification bottle;
each of its components as well as raw materials utilized will have to be certified.
Our research indicates that there are at least two different certification standards available, but there seems to be
disagreement as to which standards will be acceptable to the state of California’s review Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC), the agency in charge of reviewing products and their certification. There is further
confusion regarding testing protocols. While DTSC has issued an outline, it appears that the final protocols have yet to
be settled upon. Throughout our ongoing research on this issue, we were unable to get clarification on the above
requirements, instead it was suggested that “lawyers review the wording of the law to determine” how “they interpret
the scope of the mandatory certification...” in what already appears to be a muddy mess. Unfortunately, many
questions being asked simply can’t be answered by the January 1st deadline and as such, “strict compliance with the
law” is recommended. In addition, should we desire to change any of our suppliers after certification, it appears that
permission must be obtained by the certifying organization and that re-certification is mandatory, all at our own
expense. At the end of this letter are just a few of the requirements needed to be certified, under this revised law.
This revised law has put the burden of proof on the manufacturer, at great additional expense. In addition, our research
indicates that any raw materials that are used in water dispensing devices must also be certified by the manufacturer,
even in such cases where no metal or metal alloys are used in the material. For example, our sport bottle body utilizes
LDPE, which must be certified, even though it is common knowledge that LDPE contains no lead. Further,
manufacturers are expected to reveal proprietary information regarding their systems, suppliers and manufacturers,
without an absolute guarantee that such proprietary information will be kept confidential. Our concern is that if such
proprietary information is conveyed to competitors, we would have no recourse.
Therefore, we have reluctantly decided that until clarification is given on a whole host of unanswered
questions, as of January 1, 2010, we will suspend sales of all Berkey® water filtration and purification products
in the state of California. What does this mean to you? If you are a dealer and reside in California, at this time, we
believe we can continue to ship all of our products to you. However, no matter where you reside, you may not ship
Berkey water filter and purification products to customers residing in California. Again, this pertains only to Berkey®
products that relate either directly or indirectly, to the filtration or purification of drinking or cooking water. Our shower
filters are not affected by this change, given that their purpose is not to dispense drinking water. Additionally, as of
January 1, 2010, it will be important for you to update your websites and literature, indicating that these
products are not availabile to residents of California.