Germany to ban rubber seals from drinking water systems

Frankfurt, Germany – Germany looks set to stop the use of rubber-based components, including seals, in drinking water systems from 2021, under regulations being introduced in the country.

Under the ‘guidelines’, all chemicals covered by the EU’s REACH chemical safety regulations require a new permit governing which materials can be used in drinking water systems, according to Boris Engelhardt, CEO of German rubber industry association the WDK.

The Berlin government, he said, has drawn up a list of substances, which require proof to show that they are not harmful in drinking- water applications.

For example, he said, there are still no crosslinking agents, such as sulphur and peroxides, on the approved list.

Under the original schedule, all unlisted substances would be prohibited from use in drinking water systems from the start of 2017. But this has proved impractical and, it seems, that the industry now has until 2021 to achieve compliance.

One of the main challenges is the cost of testing: it makes no economic sense for companies supplying the industry with small quantities of a product, to run tests costing of up to €450,000 per substance.

The WDK tried to run the tests, starting with a peroxide crosslinking agent, as an example to establish the costs, Engelhardt reporting: “So far we have invested more than €100,000 and we are still not allowed to put anything into this list.”

Adding that the quality of drinking water in Germany is probably among the highest anywhere in the world, Engelhardt concluded “if we don’t meet the standards set up by the German government, nobody else on the globe will.

“Basically, it is just insane. You won’t have the chance to use sealing in drinking water systems from 2021 when this becomes a reality.”