What Happened
CPSC warned consumers to stop using three brands of faucets because high lead levels may leach into water: VESLA HOME Kitchen Faucets, KZH Bathroom Faucets, and CEINOL Bathroom Faucets. The agency did not provide what lead levels were found but did say that all three brands were sold on Amazon for amounts ranging between $30 and $55.
CPSC reminded consumers to “always check for NSF/ANSI 61 certification when buying a faucet.” It explains that “until the faucets can be replaced, consumers should only consume water from the faucets after running the water for 15 seconds.”
Unfortunately, CPSC’s reminder missed an important detail. Consumer should look for the “NSF/ANSI/CAN 61: Q ≤ 1” on the package. The “Q ≤ 1” at the end means the faucet was certified to leach less than 1 parts per billion (ppb) of lead into water during the first few weeks of use.
If not, it was certified to leach less than 5 ppb—five times more. An individual sample could be 20 ppb and the faucet still certified. See EDF’s 2018 blog for details on the standard’s lead leaching test.
The tighter standard was voluntary from late-2020 until January 1, 2024, when it became mandatory for newly manufactured faucets, giving companies three years to upgrade and recertify products. Many states require compliance with NSF/ANSI/CAN 61.
Unleaded Kids went shopping to find out what consumers might find. While Amazon’s listings had been removed, we found faucets from those brands for sale on other sites including Ebay.
We checked five major faucet brands at our local hardware store. It was not always easy, but we found it. As required by the NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 certification, all had the “Q ≤ 1.” See below for examples.
We checked websites for the five brands and only found a reference to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 after downloading the product specifications. We found no mention of “Q ≤ 1,” leaving shoppers in the dark.
For those wanting to evaluate products online before buying, one option is to go to NSF’s search tool and check the box that says “Only display products also Certified to the reduced Q test statistic criteria of 1 µg or 0.5 µg for lead.” Note that other organizations also certify products to meet the NSF/ANSI/CAN 61: Q ≤ 1 standard.
Why It Matters
“Lead-free” is a misnomer for plumbing devices. Lead is still commonly found in brass and bronze, often because it is an intentional addition to make the alloy more machinable. Even when not intentionally added, it can be a contaminant. The leaching is greatest in the first few weeks in service, resulting potentially significant lead exposures.
The term is used because Congress put it into the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 when the law defined “lead-free” for pipes and pipe fittings (such as faucets) as less than 80,000 parts per million (ppm) or 8%, dropping to 40,000 ppm in 1996. In 2011, after California adopted a limit of 2,500 ppm, Congress followed suit and lowered the limit to 2,500 ppm effective in 2014, where it remains today. For more information, see EPA’s webpage.
The committee in charge of NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 recognized the risk and added a lead leaching protocol to standard to protect consumers. In 2018, an EPA expert sitting on the committee asked for the 5 ppb limit to be tightened. The committee lowered it to 1 ppm in 2020, prompted in part by the threat of California legislation.
To meet the new standard, lead is unlikely to be added to brass or bronze.
Water for Drinking v. Food/Beverages
The NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 standard only applies to devices used to provide water to drink as tap water. If the device is used to make food or beverages, such as coffee or ice, it must be certified to meet a different standard, called NSF/ANSI 51. That standard explicit allows 2,500 ppm and has no leaching limits.
FDA’s Food Code, which is adopted by most states to address food service establishments such as restaurants, allows products that contain lead to be labelled “lead-free” as long as the levels leached are less than those in the table below. Note that 2 mg/L, is the same as 2 ppm, or shockingly 2,000 ppb.
Figure 1. Section 4-101.13 of FDA’s 2022 Food Code.
In December 2020, EDF and others petitioned FDA to ban the intentional use of lead in food contact materials and limit leaching. The agency has taken no action on the petition. See the Unleaded Kids blog.
Our Take
Devices that handle water we consume, whether directly or through food or beverages, should not have any intentionally added lead, and the amount that may leach should be strictly limited. Thanks to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61: Q ≤ 1, we have that for kitchen and bathroom faucets.
We need FDA and the committee responsible for NSF/ANSI 51 to protect the public. Both have failed to act on petitions they each received in 2020.1
We also should avoid the term “lead-free” as suggested by EDF and Healthy Babies Bright Futures in 2023.
For drinking water, Congress must take action. For devices handling water for food or beverages, the burden falls to FDA to act. Hopefully, the new leadership at FDA will make this a priority.
In the meantime, CPSC should be telling consumers to look for “NSF/ANSI/CAN 61: Q ≤ 1” before they buy, and manufacturers should be providing transparency about certifications their websites.
- The NSF committee tabled the petition in 2021 pending FDA action. ↩︎