NSF International
has announced new requirements inNSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water
System Components -- Health Effectsfor regenerated and reactivated media
used to treat public drinking water supplies. Most U.S. states currently
require media and other products used to treat public drinking water to be
certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 61 in order to verify that they will not
contribute harmful levels of contaminants into drinking
water.
The new
requirements establish criteria for the inspection of regeneration facilities
and periodic testing of regenerated media by certification organizations.
NSF/ANSI Standard 61 also requires that the regeneration and reactivation facilities
have a robust quality system, which includes ongoing evaluation of contaminants
in the raw source water being treated and an evaluation of the regeneration
process to verify removal of these contaminants.
NSF/ANSI Standard
61 originally addressed only virgin media and did not contain criteria for
facilities to use regenerated or reactivated media capable of achieving the
same treatment objectives at a reduced operating cost. Spent process media
generated by drinking water treatment plants can be readily treated and
processed at licensed regeneration facilities and returned for several
regeneration cycles to the water treatment facility. While NSF/ANSI
Standard 61 sets strict traceability requirements to help ensure utilities
receive back the same media they sent to be treated, the standard also allows
for commingling of media from several utilities as long as the purchasers
agree.
“The commingling
or pooling of media from multiple drinking water utilities is an important
aspect since it allows for the certification of regeneration companies that
provide services to very small public water systems,” said Cynthia Klevens,
P.E., sanitary engineer from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental
Services. “New Hampshire requires all products that come into contact with
drinking water to be certified under the appropriate NSF/ANSI standards.
Without this certification and the associated safeguards it incorporates, we
were unable to approve the use of regenerated media for these small systems,
who are most in need of maintaining reasonable operating costs for their
long-term sustainability.”
Background
on NSF/ANSI Standard 61
The requirements were recently incorporated into NSF/ANSI Standard 61, a
standard that includes procedures to evaluate products that are used to treat
and distribute public drinking water supplies and to screen out those products
that could contribute excessive levels of contaminants into drinking water.
Products covered in the standard include: pipes and related products;
protective and barrier materials (including cements/coatings); joining and
sealing materials (including gaskets, adhesives, lubricants); process media
(including carbon, sand, zeolite, ion exchange media); mechanical devices (including
water meters, in-line valves, filters, process equipment); mechanical plumbing
devices (faucets, drinking fountains, and components); and potable water
materials (non-metallic materials).
For more
information on NSF/ANSI Standard 61 requirements, visitwww.nsf.org.