IAPMO has an internal newsletter that includes a regular feature about our employees’ interesting hobbies. The two most recent employee spotlights featured Myra Devit (vice president of IAPMO QCC), who enjoys professional automobile endurance racing, and Jeff Ortiz (marketing and visual communications manager and co-editor of Official magazine), who plays bass guitar in a band called the Dirty Halos. While I cannot compete with the allure of racing or rock and roll, I do have a part time gig — serving as the mayor of Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte with about 32,000 residents. I preside over our twice-monthly meetings, during which citizens often come before our Board of Commissioners to speak about various concerns. Back in March, a middle-school student gave a detailed presentation about his PFAS science project and urged government officials at all levels to take action to lessen the negative impacts of what have become colloquially known as “forever chemicals.” I was impressed with his detailed knowledge of a technical subject, one that most of us — even those of us within our industry — had not heard much about until recently.
WHAT ARE PFAS?
PFAS is the acronym for perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, which is chemistry-speak for compounds made up of multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. There are millions of compounds that fall under this broad description. The “forever chemical” nickname stems from the difficulty in breaking bonds between the compounds’ carbon and fluorine atoms. PFAS accumulate in water, soil, fish, wildlife and humans and at certain levels can pose serious health and environmental risks.
First discovered in the 1930s, PFAS have been used to manufacture a wide variety of consumer products including carpets, cosmetics, firefighting foams, food packaging, nonstick cookware, paints, polishes, and stain-resistant and water-repellent clothing.
To limit PFAS exposure in drinking water, on April 10, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for the six PFAS shown in the table below. The EPA established legally enforceable levels, called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) as well as health based, non-enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) for these six PFAS in drinking water.
After the EPA issued the new PFAS regulations, NSF task groups serving under the Joint Committee for Drinking Water Treatment Units began work to update NSF/ANSI 53, Drinking Water Treatment Units — Health Effects, and NSF/ANSI 58, Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Treatment Systems, to incorporate the EPA PFAS maximum contaminant levels. NSF’s Joint Committee on Drinking Water Additives — System Components and Public Health Council also voted to include the EPA’s PFAS limits into new revisions of NSF/ANSI/CAN 61, Drinking Water System Components — Health Effects.
HOW DO THE NEW PFAS REGULATIONS AFFECT ASSE PRODUCT STANDARDS?
Upcoming revisions of NSF 53, 58 and 61 will incorporate the EPA PFAS guidelines. This means that when these standards are published and certification agencies begin mandating dates of compliance, products certified to the 17 ASSE standards that reference one or more of the three NSF standards will also be held to the new EPA guidelines. Manufacturers should begin checking now to ensure product components that come into contact with drinking water are not capable of leaching PFAS at levels detected in the test waters that exceed the NPDWR requirements.
ASSE PRODUCT STANDARDS THAT INCLUDE NSF 61
- ASSE 1003-23/CSA B356:23, Water Pressure Reducing Valves for Potable Water Distribution Systems
- ASSE 1012-2021, Backflow Preventers with an Intermediate Atmospheric Vent
- ASSE 1022-2023, Backflow Preventer for Beverage Dispensing Equipment
- ASSE 1061-2020, Push-Fit Fittings
- ASSE 1062-2017 (R2021), Temperature Actuated, Flow Reduction (TAFR) Valves
- ASSE 1063-2016 (R2021), Air Valve and Vent Inflow Preventer
- ASSE 1069-2020, Automatic Temperature Control Mixing Valves
- ASSE 1070-2020/ASME A112.1070-2020/CSA B125.70.20, Water Temperature Limiting Devices
- ASSE 1082-2021, Water Heaters with Integral Temperature Control Devices for Hot Water Distribution Systems
- ASSE 1084-2018 (R2023), Water Heaters with Temperature Limiting Capacity
- ASSE 1099-2022/WSC-PST-2000/2022, Pressurized Water Storage Tanks
- ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI/CAN 1103-2024, Performance Requirements for Pilot Operated Water Pressure Reducing Valves for Potable Water
- ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI/CAN 1379-2024, Proportional Flow Control Devices with Protection from Cross-Connection via Hydronic Water, for use in Potable Water Installations
ASSE PRODUCT STANDARDS THAT INCLUDE NSF 53 AND 58
- ASSE 1023-2020, Electrically Heated or Cooled Water Dispensers
- ASSE 1086-2022, Reverse Osmosis Water Efficiency – Drinking Water
ASSE PRODUCT STANDARDS THAT INCLUDE NSF 53, 58 AND 61
- ASSE 1090-2020, Drinking Water Atmospheric Water Generators
- ASSE 1087-2022, Commercial and Food Service Water Treatment Equipment Utilizing Drinking Water
