NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 Drinking Water System Components - Health Effects

The standard “NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 Drinking water system components - Health effects”, jointly developed by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is intended to cover certain materials or products that come into contact with drinking water, drinking water treatment chemicals, or both. The focus of the standard is the evaluation of contaminants or impurities indirectly introduced into drinking water.

This standard specifies minimum health effect requirements for chemical contaminants and impurities indirectly introduced into drinking water from products, components and materials used in drinking water systems. This standard does not specify performance, taste and odor or microbial growth support requirements for drinking water system products, components or materials.

Products and materials covered include, but are not limited to:

• Process media (e.g. carbon, sand)
• Protective materials (e.g. coatings, linings, liners)
• Joining and sealing materials (e.g. solvent cements, welding materials, gaskets)
• Piping and related products (e.g. pipes, tanks, fittings)
• Mechanical devices used in treatment/transmission/distribution systems (e.g. valves, chlorinators, separation membranes, point of entry drinking water treatment systems)
• Mechanical installation devices (e.g. taps, end-point control valves)

The requirements of this standard are limited to addressing potential health effects except where reference is made to specific application and performance standards. This standard does not specify taste and odor requirements for drinking water system products and materials. The criteria specified in this standard cover products manufactured using good manufacturing practices and generally accepted manufacturing processes. Since the presence of unusual or unexpected impurities often depends on the method of manufacture and the quality of the raw material used, products manufactured using other than accepted manufacturing methods or with unusual raw materials should be fully evaluated in accordance with this standard.

Although certain materials are required in this standard, drinking water system products or components containing alternative materials may be acceptable when verified to meet the applicable requirements of the standard based on the end use of the product or component.

When determining compliance with the specifications in this standard, “ASTM E29-22 Standard Practice for Using Significant Figures in Test Data to Determine Compliance with Specifications” is followed. When rounding data, the rounding procedure in this standard is used.

For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply:

• Cold water application is a product application that is not intended for prolonged exposure to water that exceeds ambient water temperature.
• A contaminant is a physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance in water. A contaminant can have a beneficial or detrimental effect on the drinkability of water.
• Diluted surface area, the actual wetted surface area of ​​a product, component, or material, is the surface area/volume ratio calculated using field static or field flow volumes driven by the standard for the end use for which the product is being evaluated.
• Direct additives are a treatment chemical and its contaminants that are added directly to water during drinking water production.
• The distribution system is the network of ductwork or pipelines through which the primary domestic water supply is distributed to consumers. In plumbing codes, the term is applied to all hot and cold water pipes installed in buildings.
• A drinking water purification unit system is a complete water purification device that includes all the components needed to connect the device to a potable water supply.
• Free available chlorine is the sum of hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ions.
• Hot water application is a product application that aims to expose water elevated from ambient temperature for a long time.
• Indirect contaminants are contaminants introduced into drinking water through contact with the surfaces of materials, components or products used for processing, storage, transmission or distribution.
• The maximum contaminant level is the maximum concentration of a regulated contaminant allowed in a public drinking water supply.
• Normalization is the process of adjusting laboratory extraction results to account for differences between laboratory and field surface area-to-volume ratios to reflect contaminant concentration at tap.
• The normalized concentration is the contaminant concentration value obtained from a laboratory extraction test adjusted to reflect the potential contaminant concentration at the tap.

To determine appropriate analytical tests and ensure that the potential health effects of products and materials are accurately and adequately identified, the following information is obtained and reviewed for all materials with a water contact surface:

• The parts of the product, component, or material covered, and the intended function or end use of the product or material.
• For assemblies, subassemblies, products, or components, a list of all materials and their corresponding surface areas that come into direct contact with water.
• Where applicable, the total volume of water that the product can hold when filled to capacity.
• The expected minimum, maximum and average volumes of water in contact with the product, component or material over a 24-hour period.
• Complete formulation information for each water contact material. This includes:
  • A complete formulation results in each component of the formulation being identified by chemical name, including, but not limited to, activators, antioxidants, antimicrobials, cosolvents, fillers, initiators, peroxides, pigments, plasticizers, processing aids, solvents, stabilizers, surfactants, and finishers.
  • Percentage or parts by weight for each chemical in the formulation or a reference to a nationally or internationally standardized material specification for metallic materials.

The lead content (percent by weight) and wetted surface area of ​​each component that comes into direct contact with the water flow during normal operation of the product are required for the product to be considered to meet a lead content standard.

Our organization has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. Among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies provided for businesses in various sectors, there are also testing services in accordance with the "NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 Drinking water system components - Health effects" standard.