Protect Your Eyes with ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 Safety Glasses
Our eyes, carrying complexities like the lens, retina, and pupil that were naturally selected over millions of years, are important. In addition to interacting with the world around us, this pair of organs can be essential in how others interpret our emotions.
Unfortunately, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, about 2,000 U.S. workers sustain a job-related eye injury each day that requires medical treatment. Due to the sheer importance of the human eye, every effort should be made to eliminate eye and face hazards in occupational and educational settings. Many professionals look to the “Z87” marking on safety glasses and similar eye and face protection apparatus to assure their effectiveness.
ANSI Z87.1 Safety Glasses
Such markings relay adherence to the minimum requirements laid out in the ANSI Z87.1 standard. Marking specifications are outlined in ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025, but this document covers a range of information, setting forth criteria related to the requirements, testing, permanent marking, selection, care, and use of protectors to minimize the occurrence and severity or prevention of injuries.
These injuries include impact, non-ionizing radiation and liquid splash exposures in occupational and educational environments such as machinery operations, material welding and cutting, chemical handling, and assembly operations. Please note, however, that the standard does not cover other hazardous exposures like bloodborne pathogens, X-rays, high-energy particulate radiation, microwaves, radio-frequency radiation, lasers, masers, and sports and recreation.
As a performance-oriented standard, ANSI Z87.1-2025 requirements apply to protectors when first placed in service. This way, protectors bearing the permanent marking Z87 meet all applicable requirements of this standard in its entirety.
What Are the Z87 Markings?
The standard marking for products in compliance with ANSI Z87.1-2025 is Z87, however, there are other markings addressed in the standard, including:
Z87-2: Rx
H: coverage
+, Z87+, Z87-2+: impact mark
O2: relaxed optical level
Wshade: welding filter lens
Uscale number: UV filter lens
Rscale number: IR filter lens
Lscale number: visible light filter lens
V: variable tilt lens
S: special purpose lenses
X: anti-fog
D3: splash/droplet use
D4: dust use
D5: fine dust use
For further detail on this information, please refer to the marking requirements stipulated in Table 3 of ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025.
Changes to ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025
The standard for eye and face protection effectively protects personnel by remaining current. The 2025 revision of ANSI Z87.1 continues to emphasize product performance and harmonization with global standards to support innovation and responsiveness to diverse workplace hazards. Changes to ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025 include:
A cross-reference to ANSI/ISEA Z87.62-2021, addressing protection against sprays or spurts of blood and other potentially infectious materials.
Expanded clarification and requirements for product markings, including specific guidance on prescription lens carriers and detailed examples in Annex L.
Updated and clarified language in sections related to impact testing, lens haze, and minimum coverage requirements to promote consistent test execution.
Editorial improvements throughout the document, including reorganized content in hazard specific sections for easier comprehension
For those who want to know about past editions of this standard, the 2010 revision of this standard was monumental, and the 2015 revision continued this trend by addressing issues with emerging technologies.
Prior to 2020, various innovations in product design needed to be addressed by this standard, which continues to focus on product performance and harmonize with international standards. Due to this, ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2020 underwent the following changes from the 2015 edition:
Criteria and requisite markings for protectors offering relaxed optics were added as an option to long-standing requirements. This in response to the recognition that certain job tasks and applications, including those of first-responder, firefighting or military personnel, may not need require the stringent optical criteria historically imposed.
Testing, performance, and marking criteria for lenses with anti-fog properties were added, since fogging can impede a wearer’s ability to perform work safely.
Transmittance allowances were changed.
Welding filter shades were expanded.
Clarifications were added to provide consistency in testing for applying dark-state tolerances for automatic darkening welding filters and determining the minimum cover-age area with respect to the specified headform.
There was also an erratum to the 2020 edition of this standard. This erratum sheet added text that was previously omitted to the dust test procedure in 9.18.3. It also provides clarification related to the markings for anti-fog lenses in Table 3.
Please direct any technical questions relating to this American National Standard to the developer. You can find the contact information for all standard developing organizations (SDOs) here: Who to Contact for Standards Related Questions.
Water isn’t literally everywhere, but it is overwhelmingly abundant, taking up 332,500,000 cubic miles of the earth’s surface. H2O also comprises 60% of our bodies’ mass—even 64% of human skin. Unfortunately, less than 1% of all water is fresh and accessible. This places an importance on NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 (also known as NSF 61 or ANSI 61) and similar drinking water additives standards.
What is NSF 61?
This standard—NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2025: Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects—sets minimum health effects requirements for the chemical contaminants and impurities imparted from products, components, and materials to drinking water systems. It does not establish performance, taste and odor, or microbial support requirements.
NSF 61-2025, in focusing on evaluating contaminants or impurities imparted indirectly to drinking water, covers a range of materials. This includes but is not limited to
Joining and sealing materials (e.g. solvent cements, welding materials, gaskets)
Pipes and Related Products (e.g. pipes, tanks, fittings)
Mechanical devices used in treatment/transmission/distribution systems (e.g. valves, chlorinators, separation membranes, point-of-entry drinking water treatment systems)
Mechanical plumbing systems (e.g. faucets, endpoint control valves)
The materials chosen during the construction of these products play a key role in the impact that they can have on the water system during their lifetimes. Because of this, NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2025 only calls for the selection of certain materials that are known to be more suitable for coming into contact with drinking water.
Determining Lead Content With NSF/ANSI 61
As of January 4, 2014, due to an amendment made to Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), drinking water products sold or installed for use in public water systems, as well as plumbing in facilities, need to meet a weighted average of not more than 0.25 percent lead.
In the US, drinking water components are tested to the NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 standard, and the leachate testing addressed in the document helps evaluate products for all contaminants of health effects concern, not just lead.
Previously, ANSI 61 also contained procedures specifically for determining the lead content of drinking water system components in Annex G, “Weighted average lead content evaluation procedure to a 0.25% lead requirement.” This information, however, was retired from NSF/ANSI 61 in October 2013. The previous contents of Annex G are now part of NSF/ANSI 372-2024: Drinking Water System Components – Lead Content.
In accordance with NSF 61, manufacturers should include information on testing and their products’ composition relevant to their exposure with water systems.
With this information, users of the NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2025 standard are able to determine the contaminants that could emerge in the water that travels through the piping system over time, even when factoring in a variety of conditions. This can provide the means to protect those who depend on this water in their everyday lives.
Users should also note that water exposure could vary depending on the water age, which can be incredibly high in certain situations in which the water does not regularly flow through the piping. For example, this might occur in schools, where the buildings would be stagnant for months at a time, and thus, the water might not be regularly accessed.
EPA Additives Advisory Program for Drinking Water System Components
The ANSI 61 and ANSI 60 standards were first developed in the 1980s in response to a competitive request for proposals from the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), a Consortium led by NSF International (NSF) to develop voluntary third-party consensus standards and a certification program for all direct and indirect drinking water additives.
Since this time, NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 and the subsequent product certification against it has replaced the US EPA Additives Advisory Program for drinking water system components. The EPA terminated its advisory role in April 1990. For more information with regard to US EPA’s actions, refer to the July 7, 1988 Federal Register (53FR25586).
Changes to NSF/ANSI 61-2025
Notes were removed from normative text and terminology was revised such as “mustˮ and “mayˮ throughout the standard according to IEC Directive.
A duplicate reference was removed in Section 1.3, “Normative References,” an irrelevant definition in Section 2, “Definitions,” and corrects the exposure temperature in Table N-1.5, “Exposure sequence for cold water applications.”
Language was added as Section 8.6.4, “Chemicals produced by chemical generators,” to allow manufacturers to claim compliance to NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 when the chemical produced by their equipment meets all the requirements of NSF/ANSI/CAN 61. The language allows this claim even though the equipment is not installed at a specific water utility.
Instructions and information guidance for POE systems was moved to Section 8, “Mechanical Devices,” from Section 10, which was deleted.
Several definitions were added to Section 2, “Definitions,” for clarification and harmonization throughout the standard.
Aluminum was moved to Footnote a in Table 7.1, “Product-specific minimum test batteries for process media products,” to be included with the minimum test battery requirements for process media products.
Aluminum and manganese were moved from the required analyses column to Footnote a in Table 3.1, “Former NSF/ANSI/CAN 600 qualitative paradigms,” and replaced the term “metalsˮ in Table 3.2, “Compound classification, TTCs and associated TTC-derived drinking water criteria,” with a full list of regulated metals.
New criteria was added in Section 7.3, “General requirements,” regarding the testing of manganese green sand when used as an oxidative media.
Examples of domestic and commercial hot water applications were moved from parenthetical references in Section 5, “Barrier materials,” to the corresponding definitions in Section 2, “Definitions,” to provide clarity. Temperature options were added as Section 3.1.6.3, “Temperature options.” Sub-sections of Sections 4.5, “Extraction procedures,” 5.5.5, “Exposure protocols,” and Annex N-1, “Product/material evaluation,” were aligned with the where the term “waterˮ is added for clarification.
Users also might be interested in revisions made to the previous iterations of this document, so we have included them below. NSF 61-2024 revised the 2023 edition of the same American National Standard. To keep it current, it went through the following changes:
Language was added to allow test labs to determine whether trace amounts of a given contaminant present in the reagent water are acceptable or not.
New Section 3.7, “Restriction on use of asbestos-containing products,” was added.
The term “synthetic media” was removed to eliminate confusion regarding which exposure protocol is correct for a given media type.
Language was updated to provide clarity and conformity in the evaluation of chemical generators, chemical feeders, and their components.
References were corrected.
New Section N-2.2.2, “Acceptable materials for mechanical devices and pipes and related products evaluated against TAC pass/fail limits,” was added.
New Table N-2.3, “Acceptable materials for mechanical devices and pipes and related products evaluated against TAC pass/fail limits,” was added.
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) testing requirements for fluoropolymer materials were expanded.
The normalization factor in Section 4.7.4, “Selection of normalization conditions,” was clarified.
The tolerance range for point-of-entry (POE) media was clarified in Table 7.2, “Process media exposure weight per volume ratios.”
New Informative Annex 2, “Recommended information disclosure for products evaluated to this standard,” was added.
Polyethylene (PE) transition fittings was added to the list of fittings to be evaluated as non-repeating in Section 4.7.2.2, “Products other than fire sprinklers.”
New definition was added for “end-point control valve.”
New Section 3.1.6, “Samples,” was added to include language regarding samples, finished products, and materials previously found in other sections of the American National Standard.
Changes to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2023
NSF 61-2023 went through the following changes:
An error was corrected in Section 5.7.2 by adding back Section 5.7.3: Normalization for all other end uses.
Brass rod alloy (UNS C27550) was added to the list of acceptable materials for lead leaching under Annex N-2.
Cesium (Cs) was added to the list of material-specific analyses under Table 3.1 for concrete and portland and hydraulic cements.
All definitions in the standard were moved to Section 2.
A reference was added to Section 3.1.4 in Annex N-1 for most rigorous conditions.
Duplicate language was consolidated regarding the multiple timepoint protocol to general
requirements under Section 3.
RVCM requirements were consolidated under Section 3, which applies to all products.
General bracketing requirements were moved to Section 3.1.
The maximum lead test statistic Q value was updated from 5.0 μg to 1.0 μg for Section 9: Endpoint Devices and from 1.0 μg to 0.5 μg for supply stops, flexible plumbing connectors and miscellaneous components.
The standard clarifies that refrigerator water dispensers are included in the scope of Section 9 and defines which components of refrigerator ice makers and water dispensers are considered subject to evaluation under standard. Language is also added to include standalone residential plumbed-in ice makers in the scope of Section 9.
Furthermore, in January 2024, NSF International issued an errata to this standard to replace a paragraph in Section 5.5.5.5, “Multiple time point exposure protocol,” that had been erroneously removed.
Changes to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2022
For the changes made to NSF/ANSI 61-2022:
Clarification was added on Q statistic testing for non-lead materials to reflect current practice.
Six brass rod alloys were added to the list of acceptable materials for lead leaching under Annex N-2, “Acceptable materials.”
Language was clarified in Sections 9.1 and 9.1.2.
Language was added to reflect the requirements for well packing media in Section 7, “Process media.”
Changes to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2021
For revisions made to NSF 61-2021:
Removed Table N-1.3a, “Extraction water selection.”
The pH 5 extraction water test was added to brass / bronze surfaces in Table N-1.3, “Extraction water selection” (this was Table N-1.3 b in the 2020 edition of the standard).
The requirement of a use limitation statement on product literature and certification listings was added for products that fail for copper at pH 5.
Units of in2/L were added to DSA-to-volume ratio numbers.
Additional guidance was added to Table 4.2, “Single time point exposure schedule,” to be consistent with other
exposure sequence tables in the standard.
The reference to exposure protocol from Sections N-1.4.4.2 to N-1.4.4.4 for other mechanical devices was corrected.
Clarification was added guidance for reverse osmosis systems in Table N-1.7, “Product exposure,” to indicate that typical exposure conditions occur within the product itself.
Clarification was added to additional guidance on decanting and refilling of samples for in-line and other mechanical devices to be consistent with other exposure sequence tables in the standard.
Changes to NSF/ANSI 61-2020
For revisions made to NSF 61-2020:
Corrected an error found under the product / material evaluation procedures in Section N-1.8.9.2.
The flux sample preparation method under Section N-1.3.2.5 was revised.
An optional, more stringent requirement for lead release for Section 9 devices (Section 9.5.1.1) was added. It also added a definition for the term consumer-facing.
Changes to NSF 61-2019
The 2019 edition of this American National Standard was a substantial update to the document. In all, in revising the 2018 edition, NSF/ANSI 61-2019 contained the following changes:
Clarified language regarding muffle furnace temperatures.
In section 4.7.2.2, “Products other than fire sprinklers,” stainless steel was added to the evaluation assumptions for inserts in PVC, CPVC, and PP transition fittings.
Clarification to use the most rigorous conditions for evaluating products.
Polystyrene was added to Table 3.1 for “Material-specific analyses.”
Test water tolerances were added to the extraction water protocol in Annex N-1, “Product / material evaluation.”
The use of UV treatment to reagent water to destroy trace organics became allowed.
Radionuclides analysis was removed from the “required minimum test battery” for several process media products. Guidance on potassium-40 subtraction for gross beta particle emissions and a threshold for gross beta speciation is also now provided under Annex N-1.
The evaluation of copper and copper alloy pipe, tubing, and fittings was added.
The alternate exposure water selection for several materials was changed.
All annexes were changed from alpha characters to numeric and updated to be preceded by “Normative” or “Informative.”
Standard for Health Effects Evaluation in Drinking Water (NSF 600)
NSF 61-2025 has a companion document: NSF 600-2024: Health Effects Evaluation and Criteria for Chemicals in Drinking Water. This information previously existed in NSF 61 under Annexes A and C (as well as Annexes A and D in NSF 60), but the need for accessibility of this content necessitated the publication of a new standard. NSF 600 became its own document among the changes to the 2018 edition of NSF 61. NSF 600-2023 is included in the document after NSF 61-2022.
This American National Standard is developed and published by NSF International.
Please direct any technical questions relating to this American National Standard to the developer. You can find the contact information for all standard developing organizations (SDOs) here: Who to Contact for Standards Related Questions.
The health effects of water are of prime importance. Chemicals make water potable, letting it safely enter our bodies to keep our temperature regular, lubricate joints, protect our spinal cord, and expel waste. In doing this, they, of course, must not contribute to any adverse effects. NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025: Drinking Water Treatment Chemicals – Health Effects establishes minimum health effects requirements for chemicals, chemical contaminants, and impurities added directly to drinking water from treatment chemicals.
What is NSF/ANSI 60-2025?
NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025, also known as NSF/ANSI 60 or just ANSI 60, confronts a key issue with the treatment of water. While natural water is often not potable, the treatment performed to purify it must be conducted with care to prevent chemicals from residing within the treated public water source at harmful concentrations.
The treatment chemicals covered by the standard are intended to be present within the finished, potable water, but some others that will not be present are included as well. NSF/ANSI 60-2025 strongly emphasizes that treatment chemicals shall not exceed their single product allowable concentration (SPAC), or “maximum concentration of a contaminant in drinking water that a single product is allowed to contribute”.
Chemicals Covered by NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025
NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025 covers coagulation and flocculation, softening, precipitation, sequestering, pH adjustment, corrosion/scale, and disinfection and oxidation chemicals, as well as miscellaneous treatment and water supply chemicals.
To give some examples, chemicals mentioned in NSF/ANSI 60-2025 include:
Coagulation and flocculation: bentonite, aluminum chloride
The standard is not applicable to products resulting in the intentional introduction of microorganisms to treat drinking water. NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025 also doesn’t cover contaminants produced as byproducts through reaction of treatment chemicals with a constituent.
Changes to NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025
In the 1980s, in response to a competitive request for proposals from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a consortium led by ANSI-accredited standards developing organization NSF International agreed to develop voluntary third-party consensus standards and a certification program for all direct and indirect water additives. In 1988, these efforts culminated in the initial publication of NSF 60 and NSF 61.
Today, NSF/ANSI/CAN 60, as it is now designated, is revised periodically to remain current. NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025 revises the 2024 edition of the same American National Standard. When compared to the previous edition, it contains these changes of note:
Normative references that are not mentioned within the body of the standard were removed and normative references that were not previously listed (Section 1.3, “Normative references”) were added. A section reference to ASTM E29 (Section 1.5, “Significant figures and rounding”) was also corrected
A calculation error in Section 6.3.2, “Hypochlorite treatment chemicals,” was corrected.
Previous Section 6.3.2.1, was removed due to duplicate language.
Inorganics and organics in Section N-1.4, “Analysis methods,” were combined to minimize redundancy.
Language that mistakenly calls for two different dilutions in Section N-1.4.1.3.4.1, “Preparation of solutions,” was removed.
“or equivalentˮ was added to allow for the use of generic options rather than trademarked products.
“QSˮ was replaced with “dilute to volumeˮ within sub-sections of Section N-1.4.1.4.1.3.
A chain of custody requirement was removed in Section 3.9.3.2, “Chain of custody.”
The information about tamper-evident (T/E) packaging was consolidated into a single location (Section 3.9.1, “Tamper-evident packaging and integrity”), and previous Section 3.9.4 was removed.
The term bulk was added to Section 2, “Definitions.”
The footnote in Section 3.9.3, “Security requirements for bulk shipments and large reusable containers (totes),” was revised from a volume of “1,000 Lˮ to “450 L/119 galˮ to maintain consistency with other US governmental regulatory agenciesʼ definitions of bulk.
New Informative Annex 4, “Rationale for review and assessment procedures of the standard,” was added.
For users of the standard who need an even deeper history of the changes, please scroll down to find changes to past editions of this standard.
Changes to NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2024
The previous, 2024 revision of this document was also substantial, updating the 2021 edition. For your reference, the changes made to ANSI 60-2024 included:
New definition was added for “designated individual.”
Definition for “bonded individual” was removed.
New section 6.3.4, “Sodium and potassium permanganate,” was added for treatment chemicals to be tested for manganese and comply with new disclosure requirements for manganese composition. Manganese was also added to the list of metals in the footnotes of Tables 4.1, 5.1, 6.2, and 7.1.
Aluminum was added to the list of metals in the footnotes of Tables 4.1, 5.1, 6.2, and 7.1.
The preparation method in Section 8.7.4.2.2 was updated from Method G to Method F.
Language was updated in Section N-1.3.1.2 regarding trace organic contaminants that may be present in reagent water.
Changes to NSF/ANSI 60-2021
NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2021 underwent two notable changes:
Consistencies were added to the normalization equations throughout the standard.
Sodium dichloroisocyanurate, trihloroisocyanuric acid, and sodium permanganate were added to Table 6.2, “Disinfection and oxidation products – Product identification, and evaluation.”
There was also an addendum added to this standard, which added Informative Annex 6, “Sampling guidance for sodium hypochlorite for producers, diluters, and repackagers.”
Changes to NSF/ANSI 60-2020
The changes made to NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2020 included:
The tamper evidence requirements for packaged products were updated.
Language was added to clarify requirements for the application of tamper-evident seals.
3-chloro-1,2-propanediol was added to the minimum test battery for epichlorohydrin, a polyamine-based coagulant, under Table 4.1, “Coagulation and flocculation products – Product identification and evaluation.”
Labeling requirements were added for sodium hypochlorite products.
Chlorine dioxide and Bromochlorodimethylhydantoin (BCDMH) were added to the list of disinfection and oxidation products contained in Table 6.2.
Acetic acid was added as a miscellaneous treatment application.
New definition for “biological substrate.”
The appropriate use of citric acid was clarified, specifically for use with copper-based algicides, in well development / rehabilitation, and as an offline separation process cleaner.
Changes to ANSI 60-2019
Below are the updates made to the 2019 revision:
The typical use level (TUL) for sodium silicate was raised from 16 mg/L to 100 mg/L, and synonyms for sodium silicate were corrected.
The use and fate of chlorate & chlorite in drinking water was clarified.
New guidance was provided in Annex N-1 on conducting the potassium-40 correction method for radionucleotide analysis, and this language also standardized the threshold for conducting gross beta particle speciation.
Remineralization was added to the scope of the processes covered by drinking water treatment chemicals.
They typical use level (TUL) for fluoride products was lowered from 1.2 mg/L to 1.0 mg/L.
Annex names were changed from alpha characters to numeric and preceded by “Normative” or “Informative,” e.g. “Annex A” became “Informative Annex 1 (N-1).”
NSF/ANSI/CAN 61
We hold this liquid molecule in high esteem, and rightfully
so—human beings require a gallon of water every day to perform basic functions,
as well as some other sources here and there to cook and conduct various
hygiene-related tasks. As such, there are numerous standards devoted to water.
While NSF/ANSI/CAN 60-2025 deals with the health effects of chemicals directly imparted to drinking water systems, NSF/ANSI/CAN 61-2025 establishes the health effects from drinking water system components.
This standard applies to products like process media,
protective materials, joining and sealing materials, pipes, mechanical devices
used in treatment systems, and mechanical plumbing systems.
Some drinking water standards even come with companion standards to sufficiently organize guidance pertinent to their compliance. The companion standard to NSF/ANSI 60 and NSF/ANSI 61, NSF/ANSI/CAN 600, focuses on the “Health Effects Evaluation and Criteria for Chemicals in Drinking Water.” This information is referenced in section 3.4 of NSF/ANSI/CAN 60, which details contaminant concentrations.
