Drinking water hast to meet all requirements of the dinkingwater regulation until leaving the tap. From 01.12.2013 a new limit value hast set into power for the lead concentration in drinking water, which is 10 µg/l. The contribution of the drinking water valves and taps must not exeed 5 µg/l lead.
The four memberstates iniative - Germany, France, the Netherlands an UK - have agreed upon a cooperation in this field. They are coordinating the examination of the individual alloys to be accepted for drinking water devices. Every alloy, which is accepted for drinking water application is listed on the socalled Hygienic list. New alloys, which are fullfilling the requirements can be added to the list at any time.
From end of 2015 on ward, only listed alloys are allowed to place on the market for drinking water application.
Manufacturers of copper cast alloys make an important contribution to sustainability. Environment protection and energy efficiency also belong to the key objectives of our companies. Copper cast alloys are continuously recycled, just like the base metals in our alloys – copper, zinc and tin.
Our alloys are used, but not consumed. Like other metals, copper cast alloys can be recycled any number of times without any loss in quality. They thus make a considerable contribution to protecting resources and preventing waste.
Given ever scarcer and more expensive energy and ever scarcer raw materials, recycling is growing increasingly significant. Energy input is far below that required for primary production from ores (10-20%) and the ore reserves are protected for future generations. This is why secondary production is therefore assuming an increasing share in the supply of key industrial raw materials.