NSF International, an independent nonprofit public health and safety organization, recently developed a new compositional standard for products that come in contact with drinking water to allow manufacturers to prove their compliance to new state laws that limit lead content in plumbing products. Three faucet manufacturers—Kohler Co., Moen, and Price Pfister—have recently had some of their products certified as compliant with the new low-lead requirements.
The standard, Annex G – Weighted Average Lead Content Evaluation Procedure to a 0.25 Percent Lead Requirement, was added to the NSF/ANSI American National Standard for Drinking Water Products in January 2009 in response to legislation in California and Vermont that seeks to limit consumers’ lead exposure by reducing the maximum allowable weighted average of lead content in plumbing products to 0.25 percent. Annex G was recently incorporated under NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components—Health Effects, which provides evaluation procedures to determine the level of contaminants in products (such as faucets, valves, water fittings, and other components) that come in contact with drinking water.
NSF will randomly inspect the manufacturing facilities of those companies that have products certified under the standard to ensure continuing compliance. Other states also are considering legislation to limit levels of lead in plumbing products.
To find out which Moen, Kohler, or Price Pfister faucets and plumbing components are certified under the low-lead standard, visit www.nsf.org/Certified/PwsComponents, enter the manufacturer’s name, and scroll through the list of product numbers. Any product number with a “G” noted in brackets has been certified to Annex G.
