Back in September 2010 ‘Governator’ Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the California Motor Vehicle Brake Friction Material Law, a new set of regulations meant to reduce the use of polluting materials in automobile brake pads. The initial obligations weren’t very harsh and automakers had a very long time to comply. But from January 1 2021 the law is going to bite and automakers have to be aware.

The changes mainly concern copper. This material is very good for deflecting heat and used in almost every brake pad. But it is also a very polluting material. Every time a car brakes, tiny copper dust particles are released into the environment. Copper is especially toxic to fish, plants, and amphibians living in California’s waterways. From the first of January, all brake friction materials must:

  • Contain less than 5.0% copper by weight (Health and Safety Code (HSC section 25250.52)
  • Be used on all new vehicles and their replacement brakes sold in California on and after January 1, 2021 (HSC section 25250.60(d) and (e))
  • Meet the “Level B” environmental compliance level per California Code of Regulations, title 22, section 66387.8(c),
  • Be marked with a “marked proof of certification” per California Code of Regulations, title 22, section 66387.7, and
  • Be registered with a testing certification agency per California Code of Regulations, title 22, section 66387.3.

The numbers refer to various laws and regulations. What it really means: Brake friction materials must contain less than 5% copper and they need to be tested and certified to prove it. The law applies for brakes in all cars and for all after-market brake parts sold in California. The only exception are military vehicles. Interestingly, the law is only aimed at brakes that stop a vehicle while it is in motion, which means handbrakes are excluded. Washington (state) has introduced a similar law, which also comes into effect on January 1.

Automakers and brake makers have long known about the upcoming regulations and have been readying alternatives for copper. Some of those alternatives are: steel, graphite, fiberglass, Aramid and Kevlar. These alternatives work fine or even better than copper in most cars. But copper isn’t replaced so easily in performance cars, where the dissipating of heat from braking is far more important than on a normal car. One car maker ‘feeling the heat’ is Chevrolet, which has been unable to find a copper-replacement for their Camaro-based performance cars. The law is hard: until Chevrolet changes the brakes, the speedy Camaro’s cannot be sold.

The next target for the environmental cleanup in California are car tires: Chemicals in dust particles coming off rubber are believed to be responsible for harming the Coho salmon population.