It should not take a lead contamination event of this kind for the plumbing standards to be reviewed. Levels of lead leaching from one product bought online were 70% higher than the allowable limit in New Zealand’s drinking water standards. If the joint Australia-New Zealand tapware standard were cited in the building code, all tapware suppliers would have to comply. Master Plumbers has raised this issue with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), but we have been told plumbing products will be considered with all other construction products as part of proposed amendments to the Building Act. The real problem here, though, is that plumbing products should not be bundled in with timber and nails.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 29, 2021 16:30 UTC