Today we’re adding a new and unusual—yet extremely important—item to the long list of dangerous imported goods that we’ve written about in ManufactureThis: Tiny glass beads that light up the lines painted on highways—aka: “highway safety marking spheres."

According to the Star Ledger, inexpensive imported beads used on highways often pose serious health risks to road crews—and to the general public:  

“Officials say that some cheap, imported versions of the beads contain high levels of toxins like lead and arsenic, and actually pose a threat not only to the road crews that handle them, but also to the general public because the water that runs off roadways finds its way into groundwater supplies."

In order to combat these health risks and to help support the American companies that produce safer versions of these beads, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced legislation that will implement federal standards for the glass used in highway markers.  As he put it, "What is at stake are American jobs and the health and safety of highway workers who handle 500 million pounds of glass beads every year to mark our roads.”

Sen. Menendez announced his plans at Potters Industries, in Malvern, PA, a U.S. company that employs 20 workers who produce industrial glass used on American highways. We applaud Sen. Menendez work on behalf of U.S. manufacturers, and hope this serves as yet another clear example of how Buy America policies can help keep our economy—and American citizens—healthy. 

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