LEAD AND COPPER LEACHING

Introduction

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1986 defines "lead free" as no greater than 8% lead content in a metal alloy. The amount of lead leached can vary considerably depending on how the materials of a given fixture or component part were processed (e.g., molded, machined, fabricated, etc.). Therefore, EPA expanded the ‘lead free' definition to include leaching standards that are now contained in American National Standards Institute/ NSF International (ANSI/NSF) Standard 61.


Problem

Lead and copper leache into water through corrosion of:
• Pipes
• Solder
• Fixtures and faucets
• Fittings

Many factors influence corrosion:

Water Characteristics :
• pH
• Hardness
• velocity of flow
• temperature
• chlorine level

Other Factors :
• age and condition of pipe
• presence of electrical wires grounded to water pipes

Solution

Corrosion is mainly due to acidic water stocked in the tank and running through the pipes. PNW provide technologies that inhibit corrosion by stabilizing the pH of the water. Installing a ADS system combined to a EPAeration Ozone machine is generally one of the most cost/efficient solution to this type of problem.