NSF Regulatory Affairs Manager Jeremy Brown recently authored an important essay in wateronline.com to help the public understand the safety of using PVC pipe in replacing lead service lines in the United States. Mr. Brown’s timely piece confronts the misleading claims in a recent Scientific American article which misinforms the public about plastic pipe.

NSF is the leading independent certification organization which sets standards by which all materials that come into contact with drinking water must follow. These materials, which include PVC pipe, he writes, “are required to comply with NSF standards to ensure the materials will not contribute harmful levels of contaminants to the drinking water.”

He notes the NSF / ANSI / CAN 61 standard specifies health requirements “for all water contact materials including metals, plastics, elastomers, coatings, etc.”  He says NSF certification of water-contact materials, which include PVC pipe, “requires rigorous extraction tests that include chemical extraction, analysis, and toxicological assessment of potentially hundreds of contaminants, not just lead or other heavy metals.”

He goes on to say that “plastics piping, components, materials, and ingredients have been in the industry for over 55 years, even before the current standards were established.” He adds that “[i]n the modern era of product standards, plastics plumbing products have been studied extensively.”

He further writes that NSF / ANSI / CAN 61, with which PVC pipe complies, “is the legally recognized national standard in the United States and Canada for human health effects for drinking water contact materials, components, and devices.” And he clarifies that “[p]lumbing codes and state water utility regulations require certification to this standard to ensure products are safe for use.”

He concludes with this simple statement: “[c]onsumers can be assured that the certified products and materials used to replace lead service lines will meet the U.S. national standard requirements.”

That of course includes PVC pipe, which has been rigorously reviewed and tested by the NSF – and certified as an approved material for use in delivering clean, safe drinking water – under the NSF / ANSI / CAN 61 standard.

Read Mr. Brown’s full essay here.