TALLASSEE, ALABAMA, [April 7, 2011] – Neptune Technology Group Inc. has announced that all its bronze meters, which are manufactured in the United States, currently meet the future lead free requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as well as planned revisions to National Sanitary Foundation/American National Standards Institute (NSF/ANSI) standards regarding lead in drinking water system components.
“In 2001, we made a significant investment to switch to lead-free bronze,” said Neptune President Charles C. DiLaura. “After weighing all the social and environmental benefits, we believed that our decision was prudent; and the current regulatory environment has validated our position.
With this investment, Neptune became the first (and still the only) North American water meter manufacturer with facilities dedicated to lead-free operations, production, and testing: “This was a meaningful commitment due to more complex machining processes and special handling required to avoid contamination from leaded materials”, said Neptune Mechanical Engineering Manager Tom Crawford.
While much of the water meter industry has used a bronze alloy containing seven percent lead – and defined as “81 brass” by the Copper Development Association – Neptune has used only lead free bronze in its water meters since 2001.
“As the regulations around lead content in bronze plumbing devices change, our customers can be assured that the bronze body meters they buy from Neptune not only meet the current, but also planned requirements,” Mr. DiLaura said.
Neptune Director of Product Marketing John Parks said, “Neptune’s lead-free bronze alloy meters have a decade of proven performance in the field and address emerging environmental requirements and customer needs.”
Legislative Standards
On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed legislation revising the definition for “lead free” within the SDWA as it pertains to “pipe, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures”. Entitled the “Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act”, it includes changes effective January 4, 2014.
These revisions will require that drinking water system products consist of no more than 0.25 percent weighted average lead content, based on a wetted surface area. Evaluations of Neptune’s lead free bronze water meters according to (NSF/ANSI) Standard 61, Annex G (a standard that will be replaced by NSF/ANSI 372 in October 2013) demonstrate compliance with the requirement.
NSF/ANSI Standard 61 limits the amount of chemical extraction, or “leaching”, of metals as part of its performance requirements. Effective July 2012, there will be a reduction of the Total Allowable Concentration (TAC) of leached lead from 15 micrograms per liter to 5 micrograms per liter. This change is drafted as Annex F to NSF/ANSI Standard 61. Neptune’s lead free water meters currently meet the revised performance standard as well.
Neptune Technology Group Inc. is a pioneer in the development of Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems with over nine million radio frequency meter reading devices installed in the United States in approximately 2,500 different water utilities and offers a full line of industry-leading NSF/ANSI compliant lead-free metering products to water utilities throughout North America. Since 1892 Neptune has continually focused on the evolving needs of utilities – revenue optimization, operational efficiencies, and improved customer service. For more information on Neptune Technology Group, please visit the company website at www.neptunetg.com. Neptune operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Roper Industries, which is a Standard and Poor’s S&P 500 index company and trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ROP).