NSF/ ANSI 401- Testing for Emerging Contaminants
What should you know?
The safety of drinking water has become a major concern for many consumers. Nearly 82% of consumers are worried about the emerging contaminants that cannot be detected by the naked eye and have negative impact on health. The most prevalent contaminants that consumers worry about are pesticides and herbicides as well as prescription drugs and detergents.
- The two main categories that are used to classify contaminants present in water are health effects and aesthetic effects. Health effects are contaminants in drinking water that are detrimental to people’s health. On the other hand, aesthetic effects are referring to contaminants that do not affect health but rather the taste, appearance or odor of drinking water. Due to the uncertainty of the health effects of these emerging contaminants, a separate testing standard is developed for product testing purposes.
What are Emerging Contaminants?
- Water treatment devices that have the NSF/ ANSI 401 certification have the ability to filter up to 15 of the emerging contaminants shown below. These include prescription drugs, herbicides, pesticides, chemicals, and detergents that have been found at trace levels in drinking water. Products covered by NSF/ ANSI 401 include several types of POU and POE systems including pitchers, faucet mount, counter top, refrigerator, under sink, plumed in and sports bottle type filtration systems as well as POU reverse osmosis systems. A list of products that are currently NSF certified to meet this standard can be found on NSF’s drinking water listings page.