WATER NEWS
Boil water advisory issued for White Rock & part of South Surrey
August 21st, 2010Residents of White Rock, BC are being told to boil their water after tests detected a low level of coliform bacteria in the city's water supply. The Fraser Health Authority's David ... More »
Epoxy Lining – a safe fix for leaky water pipes?
Worried about epoxy pipe lining being used in your condo or apartment building as an inexpensive fix for leaky water pipes? After receiving multiple inquiries from people concerned about the safety of this practice we decided to contact NSF (internationally recognized public health and safety organization) for its opinion.
There are various brands of this type of epoxy lining. As long as the finished product meets NSF Standard 61, NSF considers it safe.
NSF Standard 61 is known as a ‘leachate’ standard which means that NSF only tests for what might leach out of a substance. It does not restrict which chemical ingredients are used to create a product.
Unfortunately, standards often comply with industry pressures. Although now known to be toxic, BPA was also once considered safe and found its way into many commonly used products before independent studies (not funded by industry) exposed its toxicity.
Given the chemical composition of linings for leaky water pipes and the increasing uncertainties related to multiple chemical exposures, we highly recommend high quality water filtration for anyone whose water pipes have been lined with epoxy.