AWWA JAW70395

Concerns over lead release from brass intodrinking water have spurred development ofnonleaded brass alloys. Water meters, components,and fittings manufactured from nonleadedalloys (most containing less than or equal to 0.1-0.25% lead) areincreasingly being installed in water distributionsystems and premise plumbing. This articlereviews commercially available nonleaded-brassalloys, including their leaching behavior, performance,and costs.Laboratory and field tests have found thatnonleaded brass components contribute muchlower levels of lead to water than do leadedbrasses under comparable conditions, and possessmechanical strength and machinability propertiescomparable to leaded brass components. Althoughconcerns remain about possible failure from de-zincification and stress cracking, utilities switchingto nonleaded components have not reported compromisedperformance. Individual nonleadedcomponents, although more expensive than theirleaded counterparts, actually result in overallreplacement costs of only 2-5% when factoring inlabor, equipment, and other expenses. Includes 42 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. 101 - No. 7

Published:

07/01/2009

Number of Pages:

12

File Size:

1 file , 780 KB