UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL FACT SHEET EPA747-F-94-001 April 1994 (This information was provided by EXTOXNET - etn04/22/94) LEAD LEACHING FROM SUBMERSIBLE WELL PUMPS Introduction Lead is an element that is found in air, food, paint, dust, soil, and drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that on average, we receive 15 to 20 percent of our total lead intake from drinking water. Lead exposure has been associated with a wide range of risks including delays in normal mental and physical development, impaired learning abilities in young children, and at extreme exposure levels, irreversible damage to the brain. This fact sheet is concerned with drinking water submersible well pumps. Some submersible well pumps are made of stainless steel and plastic components but the majority are constructed with brass fittings contained in a cast brass housing. While the plastic and stainless pumps do not pose a problem with lead leaching, EPA is concerned for residents of homes and other buildings with submersible well pumps made with brass fittings, because the brass alloys used in such pumps contain lead. These pumps have the potential to leach high levels of lead into drinking water, especially if the water is soft and corrosive. What Is A Submersible Well Pump? A submersible well pump is typically four inches in diameter and is specially designed to fit into a water well pipe. Lead can leach into drinking water when water sits in contact with the brass in the pump. This could create a health risk with the water pumped into the home or other building by the pump. Is There A Certification Program For Well Pumps? NSF International (NSF) is an independent certification and testing organization in the areas of environmental and public health. NSF develops voluntary standards for various products and provides testing and certification against those standards. ANSI/NSF Standard 61 is part of the NSF Drinking Water Additives Program and it addresses the health effects concerns of indirect water additives, including lead. Section 8.0 of Standard 61 outlines the requirements for various mechanical plumbing devices that contact drinking water, including submersible well pumps. Currently, one brand of pump has been evaluated, test and certified by NSF against Standard 61, Section 8.0. Others have applied for Certification and are being evaluated. What Is The Environmental Protection Agency Doing? Although EPA does not regulate individual home water wells, it does regulate public water systems, those serving 15 or more connections or those that regularly serve at least 25 individuals, to monitor for lead and install corrosion control treatment if lead is found in excess of 15 parts per billion lead in more than 10 percent of homes tested. EPA is in the process of testing lead leaching levels from submersible well pumps. Laboratory and statistical analysis of the lead leaching data will be performed to determine to what extent lead leaching from water pumps poses a public health concern to anyone using them. What Should You Do? If you are uncertain about the composition of your pump, or you know it contains brass components, you should get your drinking water tested. Select a certified laboratory in your area and be sure to follow the proper EPA sampling protocol. The protocol can be obtained from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426- 4791). EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline can provide you with the name, address, and phone number of your State lab certification officer. They, in turn, can provide a list of State-certified laboratories. If your submersible well pump was installed within the last year, EPA advises you to drink bottled water while you wait for the results of the laboratory analysis. EPA's action level for lead is 15 parts per billion. If the test results indicate that your drinking water has lead levels above the action level, there are several steps you can take. There are a number of cartridge and reverse osmosis filtering devices that are available to remove lead from drinking water at the tap. NSF International evaluates and certifies both bottled water and drinking water treatment devices, the latter with regard to lead reduction performance. Lists of certified products are available from NSF upon request. The Water Quality Association (WQA) can provide advice on treatment units for specific uses at home. As a last resort, you may want to replace the existing water pump with a stainless steel model. However, this option is expensive, and still may not eliminate all the lead in your drinking water, because some of the lead produced by the pump may have settled out in different parts of the home's piping. In addition, other components of the home plumbing system, such as solder, brass fittings, and faucets are also potential sources of lead. For More Information For more information about lead in drinking water, contact the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or the National Lead Information Center at 800-424-LEAD. For more information about the NSF drinking water additives, bottled water, or drinking water treatment unit programs contact NSF International at 3475 Plymouth Road P.O. Box 130140 Ann Arbor, MI 48113-0140 (313)769-5106. WQA can be contacted at (708)505-0161, ext. 270.