About NSF/ANSI
NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company™, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, is the world leader in standards development, product certification, education, and risk-management for public health and safety. For 65 years, NSF has been committed to public health, safety, and protection of the environment. While focusing on food, water, indoor air, and the environment, NSF develops national standards, provides learning opportunities, and provides third-party conformity assessment services while representing the interests of all stakeholders. The primary stakeholder groups include industry, the regulatory community, and the public at large.
NSF is widely recognized for its scientific and technical expertise in the health and environmental sciences. Its professional staff includes engineers, chemists, toxicologists, and environmental health professionals with broad experience both in public and private organizations.
NSF has earned the Collaborating Center designations by the World Health Organization (WHO) for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment.
Serving manufacturers operating in 80 countries, NSF was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI USA. The NSF Mark is recognized for its value in international trade around the world and is respected by regulatory agencies at the local, state, and federal levels.
NSF/ANSI Standards
NSF/ANSI Standard 60: Drinking Water Treatment Chemicals — Health Effects and NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components — Health Effects are both American National Standards, which means that the NSF Standards and the processes used to develop them conform to ANSI’s requirements for voluntary consensus standards. The standards are copyrighted, but may be used by any organization or individual for the purpose of product/material evaluation, testing, and certification.
NSF/ANSI Standard 60
NSF/ANSI Standard 60, first adopted by the NSF Board of Trustees on October 7, 1988, covers corrosion and scale control chemicals; pH adjustment, softening, precipitation, and sequestering chemicals; coagulation and flocculation chemicals; well-drilling products; disinfection and oxidation chemicals; and miscellaneous and specialty chemicals for treatment of drinking water. The standard addresses the health effects implications of treatment chemicals and related impurities. Both the treatment chemical and the related impurities are considered contaminants for evaluation purposes. The two principal questions addressed are:
- Is the chemical safe at the maximum dose, and
- Are impurities below the maximum acceptable levels?
Reaction by-products such as the disinfection by-products of chlorine, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, or other chemicals are not covered by this scope of the standard.
NSF/ANSI Standard 61
NSF/ANSI Standard 61, also adopted on October 7, 1988, covers indirect additives products and materials, including process media, protective materials, joining and sealing materials, pipes and related products, mechanical devices, and mechanical plumbing devices (including faucets). In essence, every material from the well or water intakes through to the faucet are covered.
NSF/ANSI Standard 61 addresses crucial aspects of drinking water system components: whether contaminants that leach or migrate from the product/material into the drinking water are above acceptable levels in finished waters.
The standard also covers products, components and materials. When a material is certified under Standard 61, its certification indicates use restrictions on parameters such as maximum use temperature or surface area to volume ratio when the material is used in a finished product. This option allows manufacturers using certified materials to bypass some or all chemical testing when seeking certification, and assures that finished products meet all requirements.
For more information on NSF/ANSI Standard 61, please view the NSF/ANSI Standard 61 Overview.
