What is the primary purpose of NSF/ANSI Standard 61?

The primary purpose of NSF/ANSI Standard 61 is to ensure safe drinking water components. This standard focuses on evaluating water system components or materials that come into contact with drinking water to verify that they do not leach harmful substances into the water. By establishing testing protocols and limits for contaminants, the standard helps protect public health by ensuring that plumbing products, water treatment chemicals, and other materials used in water distribution systems are safe and do not pose any risk to consumers.

This standard plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of drinking water supplies, as it mandates regular testing and certification processes, thus fostering public confidence in the water system's safety. Therefore, options related to monitoring construction safety standards, regulating fiber optics, or engineered systems monitoring fall outside the scope of what NSF/ANSI Standard 61 addresses, which is specifically concerned with drinking water safety.