Six residential water meters were used in side-by-side testing to identify their potential
lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) contributions to water in first-draw stagnation samples. The meters
ranged in service age from new, never used units to one that had been in service for 40
continuous years. Five of the meters were brass with up to 8% Pb content, and one was the new
"no-lead" brass in which the Pb content is less than 0.2%, and bismuth (Bi) and selenium (Se) (a
regulated element) are used in its place. Corrosion rates varied little between meters that had
between 4 and 26 years of use, but the new leaded-brass meters continued to release Pb at
concentrations above 15 µg/L, the 90th percentile action level (AL), in a 250 mL sample even
after 138 days of intermittent water flow. The new no-lead meter released approximately 1 µg/L
Pb and Se, substantially less than leaded-brass meters, without other water quality impacts.
Finally, the 40-year-old brass meter had been dropped prior to installation in the test rig.
Subsequent testing found that the meter released up to 330 µg/L Pb and 4.0 mg/L Cu. These
elevated results were probably due to the physical jarring causing internal corrosion scales to
dislodge from the meter. After 57 days of exposure, both Pb and Cu were reduced to below their
respective ALs, although elevated particulate metal concentrations were still detected afterwards. Includes references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 400 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 20 |
| Published : | 06/01/2006 |
