NSF Drinking Water Additives Program: The Second Decade

Do you know whether the chemicals used to treat your water are safe? Does your kitchen faucet contribute harmful levels of lead to drinking water? NSF International has been testing and certifying chemicals and products used to treat and distribute drinking water since the inception of its Drinking Water Additives Certification Program in 1988. Today, the vast majority of drinking water treatment chemicals and system components, such as faucets sold in the United States, are tested and certified by NSF to demonstrate that they do not contribute harmful levels of contaminants to drinking water.

The history of the NSF Drinking Water Additives Program demonstrates how government, industry, and product users can work together through a consensus process to establish standards and a certification process to assure water utility operators of public health protection.

A Need for Solutions
Before 1988, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued letters of approval to manufacturers for products intended to contact drinking water. This process involved only a review of the material formulations for potentially harmful compounds. EPA approval did not include product testing or inspections of manufacturing facilities.

Early on, EPA recognized a need for a more thorough and standardized evaluation process for these products, yet realized that their limited resources prevented expansion of this program. As part of their assessment, they examined whether the evaluation of drinking water additives for health effects should be a government or private sector program. As a result, in 1984, the EPA issued a request for proposals for independent, not-for-profit organizations to develop standards and a certification program for products used to treat or distribute drinking water.

EPA awarded the contract to a consortium (see Thanks to Key Players) led by NSF International, which included the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the AWWA Research Foundation (AWWARF), and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA). Participation by each of these groups was key to the development of a successful program. NSF had 40 years of expertise in developing consensus standards and certification programs for products that impact public health and safety. AWWA and AWWARF represented water utilities, while ASDWA represented government agencies responsible for administering federal and state drinking water safety requirements throughout the country.

NSF worked with consortium members and industry representatives to establish comprehensive test protocols and guidelines for evaluating products that may contribute contaminants to water. Task groups consisting of water utility administrators, government regulatory officials, product manufacturers, and NSF chemists and toxicologists developed the protocols and guidelines, which resulted in the completion of the first comprehensive health effects Standards, ANSI/NSF 60 and 61, in 1988. They continue to be the cornerstone of quality and safety of direct and indirect drinking water additives.

ANSI/NSF Standard 60 established criteria for evaluation of potential and/or known health effects from chemicals used to treat drinking water. Chemicals must be safe when they are dosed at prescribed maximum use levels, and any associated contaminants must be below maximum allowable levels of the Standard.

ANSI/NSF Standard 61 addresses contaminants that may leach or migrate from drinking water system components, requiring these contaminants to be at safe levels that will not cause adverse human health effects. This standard covers every material, component, and device utilized in potable water systems including water well or source water intakes, the equipment used in water treatment plants, water distribution systems, and all of the pipe, fittings, and fixtures in a building.

Positive Results
To date, NSF has certified more than 12,000 products to the health effects requirements of these standards. More than 40 states now require drinking water treatment chemicals and system components to comply with these standards. Since August 1998, it is no longer legal in the U.S. to sell kitchen or lavatory faucets that do not comply with the lead leach requirements of ANSI/NSF Standard 61, Section 9.

The NSF certification program has benefited each of the stakeholder groups responsible for its development. Federal and state government agencies have benefited from having a thorough evaluation process which is financed through the private sector. Dr. Jitendra Saxena of the U.S. EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, said, "The old (EPA) program lacked systematic and comprehensive test protocols and decision criteria for product evaluation." As Vannesa Leiby, Executive Director of ASDWA, explained, "State regulatory agencies have realized economic benefits in varying degrees. Before the NSF program, states pieced together drinking water additive authorization programs and some individually developed approval processes. It definitely has been beneficial to have a third-party certification process."

The NSF program also simplified the specification process for water utilities, which no longer have to review chemical formulations or conduct product testing to ensure the safety of a treatment chemical. The NSF Mark assures drinking water professionals that the products they use will not contribute to the deterioration of water quality and public health.

"Public health protection has improved considerably over the old, unreliable system," stated James Manwaring, Executive Director of AWWARF. "Utilities and state regulators now have confidence that additive products have been evaluated."

Manufacturers of drinking water products have also realized benefits from the NSF program. Instead of having products evaluated by 50 different states, with possibly 50 different sets of criteria, manufacturers use NSF Certification as the one nationally recognized specification criteria for health effects safety. Comparing the NSF program to the old EPA program, Randy Deskin of Cytec Industries Inc. said the NSF program "is more systematic and its requirements are clear." Ken Ficek of Carus Chemical Company concurred: "The standards have resulted in more consistent product quality."

The NSF Drinking Water Additives Program also gives each stakeholder group an equal voice in the ongoing review and updating of the Standards. The Standards are dynamic and are reviewed and revised continually by the NSF Drinking Water Additives Joint Committee to assure that the most current technology and information are included and balloted. The Joint Committee has balanced representation from industry, regulatory and user stakeholders. The NSF Council of Public Health Consultants also reviews the Standards independently prior to acceptance.

Stakeholders also provide input into the administration of the product certification program. NSF has two industry forum groups that meet annually to provide feedback on NSF certification processes and policies. The NSF Drinking Water Additives Advisory Council (regulators, manufacturers, utility representatives) meet to provide program advice to NSF. "We have always had a good relationship with NSF through the Industry Forum and other groups," states Ficek. "Our input is heard and considered when we talk with NSF." Adds Steve Clark, EPA Office of Drinking Water: "Whenever there has been a dispute, NSF has always resolved it equitably in favor of a reasonable level of public health protection."

NSF's special expertise and leadership in drinking water additives standards has been internationally recognized by the World Health Organization. In 1997, WHO, through the NSF/WHO Collaborating Center, initiated development of Guidelines for Chemicals and Materials Used in Production of Drinking Water. NSF staff chair the international development group and are key contributors to the program.

The Future
Harmonization of drinking water product standards on a global scale is an important goal for the future. It does not make economic or practical sense for manufacturers who export globally to have products tested to different standards in every country. Canada has proposed adoption of the NSF Drinking Water Standards, and there is interest in Australia, Japan and Europe. However, global harmonization of standards is likely to be a slow process. To address the needs of manufacturers who export products, NSF will continue to establish partnerships with other international certification organizations. This will allow products to be certified to the requirements of different countries concurrently.

The product certification process is also likely to change in the future. Instead of testing products at NSF laboratories, in the future companies may test their products on site under the supervision of an NSF auditor. This would provide certification in a much shorter time frame.

The success of the NSF Drinking Water Additives Program depends on continued support of all parties that are affected by the standards and the certification program. Manufacturers will only pursue certification if it is valued by their customers, the water utilities. Water utilities will only specify certified products if there is adequate availability of certified products and the state and federal regulatory officials support the process. NSF is committed to working with regulators, product manufacturers, and water utilities to ensure that the NSF Drinking Water Additives Standards and Certification Program continues to provide value to all of its stakeholders.