Materials in Water Supply Systems: Migration of Organic Compounds from Rubber Materials

It is just as important to produce high-quality drinking water as it is to distribute it throughout the water supply system without compromising chemical or microbiological quality. Therefore, it is essential to study the migration of substances in contact with water to assess potential chemical contamination under the conditions usually found in distribution systems, which is critical for potential toxicity studies. This initial characterization of the material allows for the assessment of its suitability for contact with drinking water. The rubber material used in the water supply system was selected and subjected to migration tests for 29 days using demineralized water. The potential organic contaminants from migration waters were extracted using liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) and quantified using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). More than 50 organic compounds were quantified in migration waters. Most of the organic compounds were considered unexpected substances. Benzothiazole, 2-benzothiazole, and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole were dominant compounds. The unknowns showed a lower estimated concentration at the consumer tap (CTap) than the maximum tolerable concentration at the tap (MTCTap), and their sum was less than 5.0 µg/L. The studied rubber material is suitable for use in the water distribution system, as it satisfies the criteria of the migration tests.