WSA TN 10 Version 3 has been revised to align with ABCB’s WaterMark Certification Scheme Notice of Direction 2022/1.1 published in May 2023, recognising the revised 3-year transition period commencing on 1 May 2023 and publication of a suite of copper alloy Standards: AS 1565, AS/NZS 1567, AS/NZS 1568, AS 1572 and AS 2738 revised to include a range of commercially available lead-free copper alloys.
WSA TN 10 was originally published on 29 October 2021. The intent of the document was to allow lead free copper alloys to be utilised in products whilst maintaining product certification. There have been some developments in relation to the specification of copper alloys in water industry products since then which has prompted a 2nd revision to WSA TN 10.
- Product standards generally nominate specific copper alloys that comply with the suite of Australian Standards including AS 1565, AS/NZS 1567, AS/NZS 1568, AS 1572 and AS 2738. That suite of standards was revised in 2023 and a range of commercially available lead-free copper alloys are now included. However, where alternative copper alloys, including lead-free alloys, are utilised in products, those products may be deemed as non-compliant to the current product standard.
- The ABCB has published a Notice of Direction 2022/1.0 relating to acceptable copper alloys for the manufacture of lead free plumbing products
- WS-022 has recently published a revision to AS 6401 Knife gate valves for waterworks purposes and has included a performance based clause for nominating allowable copper alloys for use in water industry products. This is preferred to the previous prescriptive approach within product Standards where specific copper alloys were nominated. A prescriptive approach prohibits product development and creates the need to continually update standards with allowable alloys.
- The Clause included in AS 6401 is:
Components manufactured from the following materials shall be deemed to conform to this document:
a)Copper alloys with a minimum 56 % copper and a maximum of 0.25 % arsenic that conform to any relevant recognised Standard. Copper alloy components shall also—
(i) be dezincification-resistant in accordance with AS 2345; and
(ii) where manufactured using a final cold working process, be stress corrosion resistant when tested in accordance with ISO 6957 using a test solution of pH-value 9.5 without pickling.
This Clause is consistent with the ABCB Notice of Direction 2022/1.1 and is intended to be replicated across other relevant product standards as the opportunity arises.
WSA TN 10 Acceptable copper alloys within products intended for use in contact with drinking water can be purchased from the WSAA Shop.
26 Jul 2023
