The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that lead is a cumulative toxicant that can result in adverse health effects. In severe cases, anaemia, seizures, coma, or death may occur. Lead is considered particularly harmful to young children and it is estimated to have contributed to 540,000 deaths worldwide in 2016.
There is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe. This has resulted in lead being restricted or banned from use in some products that could enable the direct ingestion or absorption of lead. Two examples of this has been the banning of lead in petrol and the very strict controls on lead in paint.
Metal contamination of drinking water
Metal contamination of drinking water and its potential health effects has impacted human populations
Metal contamination of drinking water and its potential health effects has impacted human populations for centuries. It has even been argued that Ancient Rome’s use of lead in water supply infrastructure caused lead poisoning that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.
While there is no clear evidence of the effects on human health from the consumption of metals in drinking water, several high profile incidences in Australia of elevated levels of lead being found in drinking water, have heightened concern amongst the health community and the public surrounding the effect on drinking water from leaded plumbing materials.
Water Solutions for a Healthier Environment
This is leading to calls for regulations, standards, hydraulic designs, and products to be changed to ensure lead ingestion is reduced or eliminated.
At Galvin Engineering, their purpose is to provide Water Solutions for a Healthier Environment. Their focus is on the supply of specialized tapware, water management systems and fixtures for education, health, and public facilities.
GalvinClear® Lead Safe™ product range
With increasing anxiety in the community around elevated lead levels in drinking water, Galvin Engineering have responded by designing and manufacturing an innovative range of premium quality taps in new lead free and low lead materials - the GalvinClear® Lead Safe™ product range.
This paper looks at the potential health benefits for the community of using Lead Safe™ materials and adopting special production methods in the design and manufacture of drinking bubblers and other tapware, predominantly for use in schools, hospitals, and public areas.
Incidences of elevated lead levels in drinking water
The corrosion of the pipework occurred due to a change in the water source
In 2014, 100,000 residents in Flint, Michigan, USA, received drinking water with elevated levels of lead. It was discovered that the water supply had become contaminated with lead that had leached from the ageing plumbing pipe infrastructure.
The corrosion of the pipework occurred due to a change in the water source and the failure to use corrosion control measures.
High-profile cases of lead contamination in drinking water
In Australia over the last few years, there have been several high-profile cases of lead contamination being found in their drinking water. A study by Macquarie University in 2016, found that of 212 first draw drinking water samples taken from homes in New South Wales, 8% exceeded the lead levels set in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG).
Furthermore, they found that the household plumbing fittings, taps, and pipework were a significant source of drinking water lead contamination. They recommended that products for use in contact with drinking water should be manufactured free from lead.
Elevated lead levels in PCH building’s water
In Western Australia, the opening of the $1.2 billion Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) was delayed for 2½ years until March 2018, with one of the reasons cited being elevated lead levels in the building’s water.
The lead was alleged to have leached from plumbing fittings and valves inside the hospital due to corrosion resulting from multiple flushes of the system using high chlorine doses.
Plumbing products - key sources of lead levels in water
Around this time, there were other high profile issues involving lead in water
Around this time, there were other high profile issues involving lead in water, such as the closure of several Perth schools and parks, and media reports surrounding the Perth’s Optus Stadium in 2018. Plumbing products were seen as one of the potential sources of high lead levels in the water.
The products deemed to be at fault at PCH and the Stadium was replaced with lead free alternatives.
In 2018, Geelong Council in Victoria closed down the drinking fountains in several parks over concerns around high levels of lead being found in the water. In May 2019, the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) changed its Building Quality Standards Handbook to only allow the use of lead-free or lead-safe tapware and piping systems in government schools.
- What are the reasons for lead being in drinking water?
It is recognized that many factors contribute to the variability and accuracy of lead concentration results from infield drinking water sampling. This can make it extremely difficult to determine the true source, and/or the reasons for lead being in the water supply.
Besides the quality of the actual water source, these factors include but are not limited to:
- Dealing with the build-up of lead in the water due to these factors, is especially important in large and complex plumbing systems, such as those in hospitals, schools, and prisons.
Current Standards and Lead
In Australia, plumbing products in contact with potable water typically need to be certified to the relevant WaterMark.
Some examples include:
- AS 3688:2016 – Water supply and gas systems – Metallic fittings and end connectors
- AS/NZS 3718:2005 – Water supply – Tap ware
- AS 4032.4:2014 – Water supply – Valves for the control of heated water supply temperatures Part 4: Thermostatically controlled taps for the control of heated water supply temperature
The material compositions allowed are covered under the relevant WaterMark. The WaterMarks may also cross reference to other Australian Standards. When looking at AS/NZS 3718 for example, clause 2.2.4 references the following standards for various copper alloys:
- AS 1565 – Castings – Less than 4.5% lead
- AS 1567 – Extrusions – Less than 3.5% lead
- AS 1568 – Hot Pressings – Less than 3.5% lead
Testing of products for use in contact with drinking water
This standard specifies requirements for the suitability of products for use in contact with drinking water
Also, as a prerequisite of gaining certification to the WaterMark, manufacturers need to have their products tested to AS/NZS 4020:2018 – Testing of products for use in contact with drinking water.
This standard specifies requirements for the suitability of products for use in contact with drinking water with regards to their effect on the quality of water.
Extraction of metals is covered under Clause 6.7, with limits of maximum allowable concentration of metals detailed in Table 2. These limits are taken from the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) with the maximum level for lead (Pb) in water extracts from the taps being set at 0.01mg/L.
4MS Common Approach framework
Overseas the situation varies from country to country. In Europe, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, work together in a framework known as the 4MS Common Approach.
References to maximum lead levels are covered in the document ‘Acceptance of Metallic Materials Used for Products in Contact with Drinking Water – 4MS Common Approach’. Typically, most alloys have a maximum lead level of 0.2%, but there are several exceptions that allow up to 3.5%.
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in the USA
In the USA, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) prescribes that only pipes, plumbing fixtures, fittings, etc. that are considered lead-free, are allowed to be used in the installation or repair of public water systems and in the plumbing of residential or non-residential facilities providing water for human consumption.
In 2011, the US government changed the definition of lead free for pipes, pipe fittings, etc. in the SDWA, from ‘containing not more than 8.0% lead’, to ‘not more than a weighted average of 0.25% lead when used with respect to wetted surfaces of pipe, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures’.
- Will the standards around lead change in Australia?
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has been investigating to what extent plumbing products and materials contribute to lead levels in drinking water that are in excess of ADWG requirements.
The initial review was performed by the Macquarie University and amongst other findings, it stated that ‘brass components containing lead that are used in plumbing systems, can leach lead into drinking water’.
Low lead or lead-free plumbing components to be used
A key recommendation was that ‘only low lead or preferably lead-free plumbing components should be used
A key recommendation was that ‘only low lead or preferably lead-free plumbing components should be used during installation of drinking water systems’.
The ABCB is still considering this issue, and it is possible the National Construction Code (NCC), the WaterMark scheme, and other Australian Standards, could be amended to reduce the levels of lead used in plumbing materials.
A new Lead Safe™ tapware solution
Until recently, the taps and plumbing products have been manufactured using premium quality DZR brass that is approved to Australian Standards. All the products are approved to the relevant WaterMark or StandardsMark, and products in contact with potable water pass the strict testing of AS/NZS 4020:2018 to ensure they are totally safe for use with drinking water.
To offer customers a greater choice of quality taps for a healthier environment, over the last three years, Galvin Engineering have also been making taps using special manufacturing techniques and new materials that are either lead-free or low in lead.
‘Lead free’ not Defined by law or plumbing codes in ANZ
As ‘lead free’ is not currently defined by law or plumbing codes in Australia and New Zealand, they have based their definition of Lead Safe™ on the requirements of s1417 of the USA’s SDWA, and the relevant US standards, NSF6120 and NSF37221.
They have been utilizing materials that are listed on the European’s ‘4MS Common Composition List’ to ensure they use the safest material currently available. Largely, they have been using either 316 stainless steel, or compositions of DZR brass that contain less than 0.2% lead.
GalvinClear® Lead Safe™ products pass AS/NZS 4020:2018 tests
Along with this, they have also implemented new methods of manufacture and a special process of washing parts to ensure contaminants are eliminated. This new GalvinClear® Lead Safe™ product range has also passed the relevant AS/NZS 4020:2018 testing requirements and is listed on their WaterMark schedules.
- A study into the effects on lead levels in drinking water of different materials
In 2019, Galvin Engineering commissioned a study to sample and accurately measure what levels of lead may be leached from drinking bubblers manufactured from these different materials.
Professor of Environmental Engineering, Anas Ghadouani (BSc MSc PhD), and his faculty team at the University of Western Australia (UWA) were engaged to develop and undertake comprehensive testing. Water samples were analyzed at an independent NATA approved laboratory in Perth, ALS Environmental.
Drink® drinking bubbler models tested
Three of their Ezy-Drink® drinking bubbler models were tested
Three of their Ezy-Drink® drinking bubbler models were tested. The bubblers were manufactured in their ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 endorsed factory, using their standard strict quality control procedures and a controlled clean environment. Part of the manufacturing process includes each bubbler being washed in a special solution to remove any residual contaminants that could be left inside the product.
One bubbler was manufactured using traditional high quality standard DZR brass containing less than 2.5% lead. Two bubblers were produced using our new GalvinClear® Lead Safe™ materials. The first was made from a premium grade lead free 316 stainless steel.
The second was produced using a special low lead DZR brass that contains less than 0.2% lead content. This alloy is approved to the European’s 4MS Common Approach and complies with the strict requirement of the USA’s Safe Drinking Water Act.
Testing regime selected after careful examination
The testing regime was selected after careful examination of current Australian Standards such as AS/NZS 4020:2018 and AS/NZS 5667.5:1998 – Water quality – Sampling – Part 5: Guidance on sampling of drinking water and water used for food and beverage processing.
Reference was also made to other Australian authorities including the 2016 study performed by Macquarie University, and later during testing to enHealth’s June 2019 draft guideline ‘Reducing exposure to metals in drinking water from plumbing products’. In addition, overseas guidelines such as those issued by Health Canada in 201724 and by the USA’s EPA in 2016, were also cross referenced.
Based on this information, and after consulting several NATA approved laboratories, the following methodology was used:
- First Draw-Off - This is the option recommended by the reference material when testing for the effects of different materials on the water quality coming out of the taps. Typically, first draw samples will result in a higher concentration of lead than a flushed sample if the end of line fitting is the primary cause.
- 24 Hour Stagnation Time - This is the highest stagnation time in the reference material and what is used for some testing in AS/NZS 4020. Typically, a longer stagnation time will result in higher lead concentrations than shorter stagnation times.
- 80ml Sample Sizes - This is the typical size of bottles used by NATA testing laboratories in WA when conducting infield water quality testing. Typically, a smaller sample size will have a higher lead concentration than a larger sample size if the end of line fitting/tap is the primary cause.
Test performed in a controlled laboratory at the UWA
The testing was performed in a controlled laboratory at the UWA utilizing custom made testing apparatus. Deionized water was used to minimize the potential of lead being introduced into the tests via the water supply.
It should be noted that deionized water is considered aggressive on certain materials, so any resultant leaching could be higher than is expected in the field.
- What were the results from the Ezy-Drink® bubblers manufactured using Lead Safe™ technology?
The final results from four separate rounds of tests during 2019 were:
- The water extracts taken from the Galvin Specialised Ezy-Drink® bubblers manufactured from Lead Safe™ 316 stainless steel, showed no detectable levels of lead in the water (<0.001mg/L).
- The water extracts from the Ezy-Drink® bubblers manufactured from Lead Safe™ low lead DZR brass, showed no detectable levels of lead in the water (<0.001mg/L).
- The water extracts from the Ezy-Drink® bubblers manufactured from standard DZR brass showed very low lead levels in the water (<0.002mg/L). This is five time under the maximum limit set out in the ADWG.
Therefore, all styles of Ezy-Drink® bubblers are delivering water that is many times under the maximum allowable lead level of <0.01mg/L as set in the ADWG and therefore could be considered safer for drinking water.
A safer choice for schools and hospitals
The WHO state there is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe and it is agreed by health experts that any form of lead ingestion should be reduced or eliminated.
This study confirms, lead exposure in drinking water is preventable, and subject to the inlet water being lead free:
- Drinking water supplied via Ezy- Drink® bubblers made from GalvinClear® Lead Safe™ materials, contains no detectable levels of lead.
- All their Ezy-Drink® drinking bubbler models have levels of lead significantly under the requirements set by the WHO and the ADWG.
Products manufactured using GalvinClear® Lead Safe™ materials and technology is a safer and healthier choice for the community, especially for areas of greatest risk such as schools and hospitals.