The American National Standards Institute/NSFStandard 61, Section 8, was intended to protect consumersfrom inline brass plumbing products that couldrelease excessive concentrations of lead to drinkingwater. Both the public and the drinking water communityassumed that the standard was effective in safeguardingpublic health.The authors conducted experiments to examine thepractical rigor of the test and found that the standardwas lacking. Factors such as variability in the chemistryof the test water and the duration of the testaffected the aggressivity of the test waters. Resultsalso showed that small devices made of pure leadcould easily pass the lead leaching protocol. Contraryto all expectations, purchase of NSF Section 8 certifieddevices does not prevent lead leaching into watersupplies.In addition to detailing the standards shortcomings,the authors offer several recommendations for revisingand toughening the standard. These include specifyingthe freshness of testing solutions, changing the normalizationformula, and tying the results of a performancetest to field experience. The authors also advocate for adramatic reduction in the allowable lead content ofbrass products unless the testing protocol can bebrought more in line with known drinking water treatmentchemistry and field experiences with lead samplingand exposure analysis. Includes 49 references, table, figures.
Keywords: Lead; Standards; Leaching; Testing; Chemistry; Performance; Sampling; Water Supply; Reduction
