Most contaminants found in drinking water have traditionally fallen into one of two categories — health effects; or aesthetic effects, for contaminants not affecting health but rather the taste, appearance or odor of drinking water. Emerging contaminants are a new category of water quality concerns for which evidence of health effects has not yet been established due in part to the trace levels at which these compounds are currently being detected. Thus it was decided that a separate testing standard should be developed for product testing purposes. NSF/ANSI 401: Emerging Contaminants/Incidental Compounds is an American national standard that verifies the ability of a water treatment device to reduce up to 15 of the emerging contaminants including some prescription/OTC drugs, new types of herbicides and pesticides and chemicals used as flame retardants and detergents that have been found at trace levels in drinking water.

• 이소영(NSF 인터내셔널) | Soyoung Lee