How to buy a lead free faucets:
Look for the designation NSF/ANSI 64 on the package. This does not mean 100% lead free just low enough lead level to comply with the law.
Look at the faucet. If the copper water lines appear to be longer than is necessary to reach from the faucet to the wall the faucet may have added the copper to increase the weight and length of the water channel so the brass portion of the water channel is a smaller percentage of the total so they can meet the standards. A faucet like this will not reduce the amount of brass in faucet as a whole. Faucets with excessive copper water supply lines likely meet the letter but not the spirit of the law. It also mean the manufacturer has cut a corner to meet the standards which may mean they cut other corners in production.
Look for a faucet with a water channel that is not brass. Brass is the base structure of most faucets and the source of lead in faucets. To be lead free the water channel needs to be made of materials other than brass because at this writing no faucet company that I can find can produce brass without lead added in the manufacturing process.
Non-brass water channels can be plastic, stainless steel or copper. There may be other materials of which I am not aware.
ANO represents two faucet companies that offer lead free kitchen faucets.
Eclipse Stainless faucets are solid stainless steel with no brass in the water channel. The picture below is a picture of Eclipse faucet parts cut in half. The second picture is of brass faucets cut in half. You will note in addition to having up to 8% brass the brass faucets have a rough water channel that can build up impurities in the water.
Freendo Kitchen kitchen faucets offered by ANO have a copper water channel. Copper does not contain lead.
For more information you can visit the ANO website www.anosales.com.
Eclipse Stainless faucet cut in half
Traditional Brass faucet cut in half
Tom Robinson
ANO, Inc.
