From January 4, 2014 and on, The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act prohibited the use of any pipe, pipe fitting or plumbing fixture, solder or flux that is not lead-free in public water systems. The legal amount of lead that can now be present is .25% lead on wetted surfaces.
After almost an entire year since the law became effective, Plumbing Engineer highlighted some of the main changes, concerns and focuses in the past year.
What were some common obstacles faced in the switch to lead free?
- Products needed to be reconfigured
- Lead was replaced with bismuth or silicon, which requires a higher scrap rate of material
- Cost based challenges, because lead is the least expensive of all the elements
- Verification at the wholesale level that products are actually lead free
- Soldering techniques had to change
What are some obstacles still present, after 1 year?
- Lead free bronze alloys are harder but more brittle. They are less forgiving when overtightened, and more likely to crack.
- Enforcement and regulatory guidelines are less than clear. There are many questions still unanswered such as:
– Which products need to comply?
– Interpretation could vary inspector to inspector
– No standard was set in order to mark material as lead free
How has your experience with the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act been so far? How has it affected your day to day?
You can find our lead-free products here:
