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National Sanitation Foundation Standards

for Drinking Water Systems

 

ANSI/NSF Standards for Drinking Water Treatment Units

These standards represent only some of the many standards established by NSF for domestic drinking water systems.

 

Standard 42: Aesthetic Effects

This standard primarily deals with Chlorine removal, appearance and Taste and Odor claims. 

Chlorine

A chlorine reduction claim means the system reduces the concentration of chlorine in the water. This category is broken down into classes that represent a certain level of Chlorine removal.

Class I - 75% or greater Chlorine reduction

Class II - 50% - 74% Chlorine reduction

Class III - 25% - 49% Chlorine reduction

Particulates

A performance claim for Particulate removal means the system removes particles of a certain size based on the following classes:

Class I - Reduces 85% of particles 0.5 to < 1 microns in size

Class II - Reduces 85% of particles 1 to < 5 microns in size

Class III - Reduces 85% of particles 5 to < 15 microns in size

Class IV - Reduces 85% of particles 15 to < 30 microns in size

Class V - Reduces 85% of particles 30 to < 50 microns in size

Class VI - Reduces 85% of particles equal to or greater than 50 microns in size

 

Standard 53: Health Effects

This standard is concerned with contaminants that may pose a health risk such as:

Lead

Volatile Organic Compounds (V.O.C.'s)

Inorganic Chemicals

Cysts

Radon

Turbidity

Pesticides and Herbicides

Trihalomethanes (THM's)

Volatile Organic Chemicals (V.O.C.'s)

A performance claim for V.O.C. reduction means the system reduces the concentration of all of the following contaminants. Some of these chemicals can be tested individually for performance claims.

Cysts

A performance claim for cysts indicates the system reduces the concentration of parasitic cysts by at least 99.95%. The cysts included in this claim are Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Toxoplasma and Entamoeba.

Turbidity

A claim for turbidity reduction means the system removes fine particulate matter that makes water appear cloudy to a level below the U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Level.

Lead

A performance claim for lead reduction demonstrates the system's ability to reduce the concentration of lead below the U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Level.

Standard 58: Reverse Osmosis Systems

This standard is concerned with the performance of Reverse Osmosis drinking water systems. The performance claims are for the following contaminants:

Arsenic Reduction Asbestos Reduction Barium Reduction Cadmium Reduction Copper Reduction Cyst Reduction Fluoride Reduction Hexavalent Chromium Reduction

Lead Reduction Mercury Reduction Nitrate Reduction Radium 226/228 Reduction Selenium Reduction TDS Reduction Trivalent Chromium Reduction Turbidity Reduction VOC Reduction

Most testing for certification is done according to protocols that are part of the NSF International Standards. The testing establishes that the water treatment device provides sufficient reduction of contaminants to warrant certification. Testing also determines that the materials used to construct the system will not contribute harmful contaminants to the treated water. The manufacturer must comply with product labeling and consumer information requirements before a device can be certified. A product data sheet is provided for each product and includes:

• Rated Service Life

• General Use Conditions

• Model or Part Numbers for Replacement Elements

• Maximum and Minimum Operating Temperatures

• Maximum and Minimum operating Pressure

• Cost of Replacement Elements

Types of Contaminants Tested and Listed on Certificates

VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) ¹

¹ Based on testing with chloroform surrogate per Section of NSF Standard 53 (revised March 1994).

² Organic chemicals referred to as Trihalomethanes, Total Trihalomethanes, TTHMs and THMs.

Other Organics ³

³ Some manufacturers chose to test for a few specific organic contaminants and for THMs.

Microbiological Contaminants and Turbidity

Bacteria
Turbidity
Cysts (protozoan)
Virus

Inorganic and Radiological Contaminants

⁴ No longer a primary drinking water standard (MCL) but does appear on some certificates.

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