VIGA Keran Produsén 
Keran: the end of “disaster” **
Faucets are closely related to people’s daily life, and the safety of faucets greatly affects people’s health. In recent years, the health problems of faucets have caused social panic, and the “lead” incident of faucets in Wenzhou has triggered a crisis in the hardware and bathroom industry. Water is the source of life, and the faucet is the “gate of life”. The trickle flows out from the faucet. If the lead element contained in the faucet material is separated out and brought into the human body, this will bring it to millions of families. Potential health hazards, the faucet lead poisoning problem has become a social problem, which has also brought “haze” to the faucet market.
Although the lead content of faucets affects human health and is recognized as a hidden danger to residents’ drinking water, tracing the source of damage to the water source shows that the “guilt” of faucets is not so serious. Regardless of the impact of heavy metal elements used in the faucet on the human body, judging from the contact area between the water supply system and the water flow, the faucet is not a source of damage to the residents’ drinking water supply system.
“The lead content of faucets will definitely have a certain impact on the lead content in tap water, but faucets are the end product, which is at the end of the entire water supply pipeline, and it is also the part with the smallest impact.” Wang Jiade, manager of the Sanitary Quality Management Department, when talking about the “lead” of the faucet, bluntly said that although the faucet contains heavy metal elements which is destructive to drinking water, the faucet is located in the “rear few centimeters” of the entire water supply system, so it is in contact with the water flow. “Area” and friction are far inferior to other transportation links.
Water pipes: long-term “cause” water
In fact, water pipes have been “favored” by CCTV long before the faucet was “leaded” out of the public eye. On January 21, 2014, CCTV’s “Focus Interview” program exposed major quality problems in domestic water pipe production. Water pipes, as the pipelines for people’s drinking water, not only affect the cleanliness of residents’ drinking water with a long “front” area, but also bury a huge hidden danger for drinking water through the deep “underground”. Some experts said that, in contrast to the secondary pollution caused by the “gate of life” faucet, the degree of water pollution caused by the life channel “water pipe” is much greater than that of the faucet due to its “long-term combat”.
Looking back at the CCTV footage on January 21, 2014, its “Focus Interview” program exposed major quality problems in domestic water pipes. According to reports, the main materials of water pipes in my country are cement pipes, cast iron pipes, steel pipes and plastic pipes, of which plastic pipes account for 30%. Even in the newly added water pipes in 2012, plastic pipes account for half of them! CCTV announced a picture of companies in some water pipe production areas in my country using crushed materials such as water pipes and cable wraps as raw materials for water pipe production. Using these highly toxic chemical barrels to crush the green barrels is very likely to leave harmful substances, and using these as raw materials requires the addition of plasticizers and other substances in the processing process. These substances are mixed in the pipes and are also harmful to the people’s bodies. Will cause great harm and even cause cancer.
Since tap water pipes are in direct contact with drinking water, the country has strict drinking water standards for this. According to regulations, the raw materials for production should be white high-grade polyethylene or polypropylene particles; however, the current status of tap water pipe manufacturing in my country is not optimistic. Low-price competition, using toxic secondary recycling materials to produce water pipes. Compared with the faucet containing a trace amount of “lead” element, the “material” in the production of water pipes contains toxic elements that greatly exceed the “lead content” of the faucet.
“It is a systematic problem to investigate the pollution source of drinking water. Most of the existing urban water supply pipelines in our country were constructed in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of these pipelines are made of cast iron, cement, or other materials. Toxic tap water pipes installed underground are difficult to find, and the replacement life is 50 taun. Once there is a risk of cancer, the harm to local residents is long-term. These are the sources of drinking water pollution.” A senior person in the industry told reporter. Regardless of the water pollution of the toxic elements contained in the senior materials of the water pipes, or the contact area of the water pipes in the entire water supply system and the water flow, the degree of water pollution is amazing.
Direct hit: the status quo of the faucet industry
Although water pipes are more damaging to drinking water than faucets, after all, faucets still damage people’s drinking water. What is the status of my country’s faucet industry today?
According to the reporter’s understanding, among the faucet manufacturers in my country, 85% of the companies use brass as raw materials, about 10% of companies use zinc alloys as raw materials, and about 5% of companies use plastics as materials. Copper materials are still produced in the faucet industry. The main material. As the main raw material for the production of faucets, copper materials are mainly “preferred” by manufacturers due to their obvious advantages: **, copper is an easy-to-process material and has hundreds of years of production experience at home and abroad; second , Copper is the best antibacterial material, which is beneficial to protect human health and maintain hygiene. According to data from the US Environmental Protection Agency, copper is more than 99% bactericidal. Compared with other materials, including stainless steel, copper contains mercury. If this problem is not handled properly, it will be more harmful to the human body than lead poison. Sanajan kitu, zinc alloy is used as a raw material, because it is more expensive than copper, and the material is difficult to control, and there are many impurities, so it is less used in production. With plastics as raw materials, product quality control is a problem, and the risk is much greater than that of copper and zinc alloys. Ku kituna, so far, copper is still the main raw material for faucet production.
The reporter learned from a senior person in the industry that as a hardware and bathroom industry that has emerged in recent years, there are currently nearly thousands of faucet brands. After more than ten years of development, most faucet companies are still in small and medium-sized scales, and can reach international standards. There are very few national brands. In terms of product quality, design level, and process level, there is still a certain gap between the production level of my country’s faucet and the international level. Although the state and relevant departments and associations have been calling on companies to improve the quality of their products, there are not many companies that can meet national standards at this stage. Although the development of my country’s faucet industry is still lagging behind, there are also a number of large-scale brand companies that can keep up with the international standards and even reach the international level.
The faucet industry is an industry closely related to the lives of residents. As the “lead issue” intensified, the “New National Standard” came into being. For the faucet industry that is expanding, the “coming” of the “New National Standard” will obviously usher in a new industrial pattern.
Thinking: What do you think of the new national standard?
The “lead” of the faucet has moved people’s hearts, and it has also moved the relevant national departments. On May 6, the country issued the “New National Standard” for lead poisoning, and it is planned to be implemented on December 1. “From release to implementation, the transition period is very tight. Some big-name companies have strong technical strength to meet the standard, jeung 30 % Of enterprises will face an industry reshuffle.” Some experts bluntly said that the new national standard will involve changes in enterprise technology, and whether some enterprises can withstand the pressure remains to be determined.
“If the new national standard is strictly implemented, all faucet companies will have to close down. The new national standard obviously cannot be implemented in the near future.” The person in charge of an enterprise in Kaiping, Guangdong told reporters that the state’s formulation of the new national standard is a good thing, but it may not be in line with the current industrial development situation. Whether it can be strictly implemented depends on the interests of all parties, and whether it can be implemented has yet to be proven.
The formulation of the “New National Standard” can be said to have attracted great attention from the industry. The reason is that the new national standard “walks” ahead of the development of the industry.