One way not to follow the changing standard of what “lead-free” actually means is to use 100% lead-free components. Red Hed Manufacturing is currently the only manufacturer to produce 100% lead-free brass components for water utility customers. We use a proprietary blend with our brass that contains bismuth, which reduces its conductivity and galvanic corrosion while providing superior machinability while remaining within the potential safety maxima for other metals. Not only are we sticking to the standard, but we have helped adopt it. We believe that completely lead-free drinking water should be the norm, not a maximum allowable amount of lead. Because we use higher quality metals and produce a heavier component, you get a 30-35% longer service life at only 10% more expensive. For HBS, we always recommend indicating the phrase “100% lead-free”. This ensures that the solder/flux does not contain lead. In California, after January 1, 2010, the maximum permitted level of lead in pipes, pipes or sanitary fittings, valves, solder, or “lead-free” streams intended to transport or release water for human consumption while drinking or cooking is as follows: While the company continues to require a truly lead-free composition in pipes, fittings and devices containing water, Our industry will see a continuous reduction in the allowable lead content in lead-free valves. If you invest a little more today to incorporate 100% lead-free components into your system, you won`t have to worry about future upgrades as regulations change to require lower lead content in components that meet previous definitions of “lead-free.” At Red Hed Manufacturing, we have your future in mind and we have the 100% lead-free components you need for your water supply system. Contact us today for more information on how we can help you set and maintain your system to the strictest specifications. What is lead-free? The EPA`s guideline rule sets an action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) and estimates that more than 40 million U.S.
citizens use water “that may contain more than 15 ppb of lead. If tests show that the lead content of drinking water is in the range of 15 ppb or more, it is advisable – especially if there are young children in the house – to replace old pipes, filter the water or use bottled water. While you may think that lead-free lead shouldn`t contain lead, there are a few reasons why a small amount of lead is brass. Similar to car engines, when leaded gasoline was used regularly, lead acts as a lubricant. In the case of brass water components, lead acts as a lubricant when brass is machined, as well as when filling small cavities or imperfections in brass during the molding process. For this reason, when developing lead-free standards, industry has insisted on exempting components that do not come into contact with drinking water, and the lead-free definition actually contains a maximum amount of lead. Starting with the maximum of 8% in the Safe Drinking Water Act, the standard has undergone several changes, including the 1996 amendment, to achieve certain maximum lead leaching concentrations and the maximum total weight of lead in the 0.25% component of the Lead in Drinking Water Reduction Act. With the drastic change in the permitted lead content reduced by 7.75%, it is quite possible that a further reduction in the maximum amount of lead in a “lead-free” component will continue to decrease until the components are 100% lead-free. “Unleaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lead-free. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
In the 1980s, the EPA established standards that limit lead concentrations in public water systems, defining “lead-free” pipes as: Typically, this is caused by lead-containing pipes and other lead-containing accessories, but here in this article, we`ll explore what the ever-evolving definition of “lead-free” means. (f) In addition to the definitions “lead-free” in paragraphs (a) to (e) of this section, no potable water chiller that contains an internal solder, stream or storage surface that may come into contact with potable water shall be lead-free if the inner surface of the solder, stream or storage tank contains more than 0.2% lead. Potable water chillers must be manufactured in such a way that each individual part or component that may come into contact with drinking water contains no more than 8% lead, while maintaining the maximum weighted average lead content of 0.25% of the wet surfaces of the entire product. Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) defines “lead-free” as a weighted average of 0.25% lead, calculated on the wet surfaces of a pipe, pipe fitting, pipe fitting, fitting and fixture, and 0.2% lead for solder and flux. The law also includes a method for calculating the weighted average of wet surfaces. These regulations will become federal law on January 1, 2014. The only other states that have strict lead-free laws are Louisiana, Maryland, and Vermont. Overall, by amending the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Lead in Drinking Water Reduction Act will reduce the permitted lead content of brass products from 8.0% to 0.25%. This is a 30-fold reduction, while the term “unleaded” remains the same. In 2011, Congress passed the Lead in Drinking Water Reduction Act (RLDWA), which revised the definition of lead-free by lowering the maximum lead content of wet surfaces of sanitary products (such as pipes, pipe fittings, sanitary fittings) from 8% to a weighted average of 0.25%. SDWA 1417(e) for lead leaching from new sanitary equipment and fixtures. […] “Unleaded” is not “lead-free”.
What? That`s right. If you really want lead-free solder, you need to specify “100% lead-free”. […] In 1996, Congress again amended the Safe Drinking Water Act and required sanitary facilities (end devices) to meet voluntary lead leaching standards. The amendments also prohibited the introduction of pipes, pipes or fittings or sanitary fixtures that are not lead-free. www.weareleadfree.net/about_lead_free/lead_laws/usa/ (2) Not more than a weighted average of 0.25% lead when used with respect to wet surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, pipe fittings and fittings. The Act prohibits “the use of sanitary pipes, pipes or fittings, welds or fluxes after June 1986 for the installation or repair of (i) a public water supply system; (ii) any pipe in a residential or non-residential facility that provides water for human consumption that is not lead-free. (a) “lead-free” means, for the purposes of this subsection, (1) does not contain more than 0.2% lead when using solder and flux; and (b) The weighted average lead content of a pipe, pipe fitting, pipe fitting or device shall be calculated using the following formula: For each wetted component, the lead content of the component is multiplied by the ratio of the wetted surface of that component to the total wetted surface of the entire product to obtain the weighted lead content of the component. The weighted lead content of each wetted component is summed and the sum of these weighted percentages gives the weighted average lead content of the product. The lead content of the material used in the manufacture of wetted components shall be used to determine compliance with paragraph (a)(2) of this Division. For the lead content of materials supplied in the form of a range, the maximum surface content shall be used. (e) If a device contains fluids (e.g. activated carbon, ion exchange resin) contained in filters, the fluids shall not be used to determine the “total wetted surface area of the whole product” as defined in subparagraph (b) of this section.
The SDWA includes several exemptions to lead-free requirements, particularly for plumbing fixtures used exclusively for non-potable services, as well as a list of specific products: toilets, bidets, urinals, fill valves, flush valves, hydrants, bathtub fillers, shower valves, service saddles or main slides for water distribution with a diameter of 2 inches or more. It should be noted that the “weighted average lead content” of a pipe and fitting, pipe fitting and device is calculated using the following formula: the percentage of lead content of each component in contact with water must be multiplied by the percentage of the total wetted area of the entire pipe and pipe fitting. Taps or sanitary ware presented in any lead component. In addition, it is prohibited to trade in a pipe, pipe or sanitary fitting, solder or flux that is not lead-free; unless the use is for manufacturing or industrial purposes. The 2011 RLDWA also created exemptions in Section 1417 of the SDWA from prohibitions on the use or introduction into trade of “pipes, pipe fittings, fittings or sanitary devices, including check valves, used exclusively for non-potable services such as manufacturing, industrial processing, irrigation, outdoor irrigation or for other purposes where water is not intended to be used for human consumption” (SDWA 1417 (a) (4) (a)). Also excluded are “toilets, bidets, urinals, filling valves, rinching valves, bathtub fillers, shower faucets, service saddles or water main slides 2 inches or more in diameter” (SDWA 1417(a)(4)(B)). With the Community Fire Safety Act of 2013, Section 1417 of the SDWA was amended to include fire hydrants in the list of exempt sanitary equipment. www.nsf.org/business/mechanical_plumbing/annexg.asp 1986, Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act and prohibited the use of pipes, solder, or streams that were not “lead-free” in public water systems or pipes in facilities providing water for human consumption.
