Abstract
Typically water quality in Scandinavia has low alkalinity and hardness, and is consequently corrosive to the metallic materials. During the last years brass materials used in drinking water systems have been under discussion because of the amount of the lead content and relevant migration into the drinking water. In Scandinavia the requirement for the use of dezincification resistant brass in drinking water installations is widely utilized and hence, CuZn36Pb2As (CW602N) brass alloy is the type of brass that is mostly installed. In this study, the use of non-dezincification resistant brass alloy CuZn40Pb2 (CW617N) in drinking water systems in Rauma, Finland is examined using real-life distribution network built in the office building Technology Center Sytytin. This brass alloy is accepted to use in fittings or ancillaries in contact with drinking water for example in Germany and in the Netherlands. The acceptance is based on metal leaching data from a long-term rig test (EN 15664-1), showing that the release of lead and other harmful metals is below the parametric values given in the EU's Drinking Water Directive.In this study the brass couplings manufactured from CuZn40Pb2 brass possess dezincification after five years of use in drinking water systems delivering water from Rauma water work. The main reason for the dezincification type of corrosion lies in the high sulfate and chloride concentrations as well as in low alkalinity. In this case the high concentrations of sulfate are mainly responsible of the dezincification of brass couplings. Typically, due to the aggressiveness of the water and consequent general corrosion from all brass materials, the drinking water quality is deteriorated by high dissolved concentrations of lead, copper and zinc. It is evident that CuZn40Pb2 brass cannot be used and demand for the use of dezincification resistant brass in water systems is extremely important in order to avoid expensive failures and problems caused by leakages.
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