American Biltrite AB-576
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) & The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
January 4, 2011 President Obama signed legislation revising the definition of “lead free” within the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The tolerated lead content level was drastically reduced to a mere 0.25% per weighted average. This steep decline in acceptable levels of this hazardous contaminant impacted all manufacturers and distributors of joining and sealing components.
A grace period of 36 months was granted to allow all entities working within the potable water industry to change their inventory over to a material that meets the new stricter Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
January 4, 2014- President Obama’s legislation went into full effect, ending the grace period. As of that date, it has been illegal to introduce products into commerce for drinking water applications UNLESS they are tested and meet the new version of the lead-free standard. Standard rubber compounds used in gaskets and seals in potable water applications must be proven to prevent leaching of harmful contaminents prior to installation.
Applications Impacted
- Public drinking water distribution including water storage tanks and reservoirs, water meters and all individual components.
- Joining and sealing materials (gaskets, adhesives, and lubricants).
- Mechanical devices (water meters, valves, and filters).
- Pipes and related products (hose and fittings).
- Plumbing devices (faucets and drinking fountains).
- Process media (filter media and ion exchange resins).
- Non-metallic potable water materials.
- Fire Hydrants: the NSF International Joint Committee on Drinking Water Additives–System Components and the NSF Council of Public Health Consultants (CPHC) approved the removal of the 15-year exclusion of fire hydrants from the scope of NSF / ANSI Standard 61. Fire hydrants can now be certified NSF / ANSI Standard 61.
Risk Assessment
There are over 155 000 public water systems in the United States. More than 286 million Americans drink water from a community system daily. Water safety concerns are at an all time high.
The Safe Drinking Water Act regulatory enforcement is mandated by each state through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In recent years the public has become more aware of the potential hazards of inferior drinking water quality; hence stricter and more refined test procedures are constantly pursued and developed. The result is reduced liability for manufacturers and distributors of products that are tested and labelled as meeting these standards. The flip side of this coin is the severe consequences for those who choose to distribute substandard materials.
- Each state has a separate water quality enforcement department and the EPA posts all enforcement reports state by state.
- State agencies can order the removal of non-certified products. Substantial fines can be issued, but the cost of removing or replacing equipment is often just as punitive.
- Enforcement often occurs at the bid request stage when a utility is not specifying NSF / ANSI Standard 61 in a bid or if it specifies NSF / ANSI Standard 61 but awards the contract to a product that is not compliant.
- The EPA posts violations and fines on their website identifying companies and individuals openly for public viewing.
- Compliance monitoring takes place via inspections, interviews, reports, photographing, taking samples, and observing site operations.
NSF International Certified EPDM AB-576
The decision to certify our AB-576 through NSF International was triggered by our customers popular demand for accreditation by one of the most reputable testing and certification organizations.
Meets American Water Works Association (AWWA) standard C111/A21.11
This standard covers rubber gasket joints for ductile-iron pressure pipe, ductile-iron and gray-iron fittings, for valves, hydrants, and other appurtenances for the water supply service.
It is the ideal product for all your water sealing needs.
Ensuring optimum performance for gaskets and seals is a unique balance of physical properties; one of the most important is compression set. AB-576 has optimum compression set values. In accordance with gasket specifications in the potable water industry, this material’s ability to resist or recover from permanent deformation post pressure or stress make it a staple for gasket cutters serving this market.
SPECIFICATION ASTM D2000: 1BA715Z1 Z1 = Hardness Shore A 75 +/- 5 ASTM D1330 Grade 1 & 2
POLYMER: Ethylene-Propylene (EPDM)
TENSILE (PSI): 1500 min.
TEMPERATURE RANGE: -40° to 275°F
PRESSURE RATING: Pressure, Maximum, psig (bar) 250 (17) Maximum *P x T (1/16 inch) 30,000 (°F x psig)
COMPRESSION SET: 22 hrs @ 70°C 20% max.
FINISH: Smooth
COLOR: Black
NSF/ANSI-2013, section 9 at exposure rate of 0.2 in2/liter
NSF/ANSI 61-2013, section 6 at commercial hot temperature (180°F) with exposure rate of 4.98 in2/liter
*Pressure x Temperature
**Per roll
| ITEM | GAUGE IN (MM) | WIDTH IN (MM) | SURFACE** SFT (M2) | LENGTH** LFT (M) | WEIGHT** LBS (KG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 386-04-482 | 1/16 (1.59) | 48 (1219.2) | 200 (18.6) | 50 (15.24) | 71 (32.2) |
| 386-08-482 | 1/8 (3.7) | 48 (1219.2) | 100 (9.29) | 25 (7.62) | 71 (32.2) |
| 386-12-482 | 3/16 (4.76) | 48 (1219.2) | 80 (7.43) | 20 (6.10) | 84 (38.1) |
| 386-16-482 | 1/4 (6.35) | 48 (1219.2) | 80 (7.43) | 20 (6.10) | 114 (51.7) |
For easy verification of our product in NSF’s approved product listing, please visit www.nsf.org for validation of AB-576 in the joining and sealing materials & mechanical devices sections. NSF’s expertise in all areas of public drinking water provides the peace of mind that we deemed essential to share with our customers. Gaining product acceptance is simplified when a product bears the familiar NSF seal. The NSF logo is the most widely recognized and respected mark in the drinking water industry.