The standard for hypochlorites, ANSI/AWWA B300-18: Hypochlorites, has been revised.
Changes to this American National Standard were made to the sections on Sample Handling (Sec. 5.1.3) and the Notice of Nonconformance (Sec 5.3). New language was also included in the Affidavit of Compliance (Sec 6.3).
Hypochlorites are often used as cleaning chemicals. A hypochlorite is composed of an oxygen atom and a chlorine atom and expressed with the chemical formula ClO–. In its different forms, hypochlorites can clean drinking water, disinfect, and bleach.
In ANSI/AWWA B300-18, chlorinated lime, calcium hypochlorite, and sodium hypochlorite all fall under the umbrella expression of hypochlorites. Each chemical has its own distinct properties. These properties detail their levels of chlorine percentage, as well as other unique qualities. For example:
ANSI/AWWA B300-18 mentions that it is “advisable” for chlorinated lime, also known as bleaching powder, be stored “in a cool, dry area, for no more than nine months.”
ANSI/AWWA B300-18 says that calcium hypochlorite is “best fed as a solution.”
Sodium hypochlorite is also often referred to as “bleach, liquor, chlorine water, and Javelle water.”
Javelle (or Javel) water refers to the geographic region where a Frenchman named Claude Louis Berthollet created liquid bleaching agents based on sodium hypochlorite, although bleaching processes probably go way further back than that. In fact, the whitening of fabrics can be traced back to the Egyptians. Today, along with household cleaning items, hypochlorites are also pumped into the waters at water treatment plants. ANSI/AWWA B300-18 looks into how hypochlorites are administered into “water, wastewater, and reclaimed water treatment.”
Reclaimed water is water that has been previously used for one process that is used for another.
According to the USGS, reclaimed water, among other things, can go towards “watering golf courses and landscaping alongside public roads, etc. Some industries, such as power-generation plants can use reclaimed wastewater. A lot of water is needed to cool power-generation equipment, and using wastewater for these purposes means that the facility won’t have to use higher-quality water that is best used somewhere else.”
ANSI/AWWA B300-18 provides information on hypochlorites, including physical, chemical, sampling, testing, packaging, and shipping specifications.
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) standard for hypochlorites was first approved in 1953. Originally, the standard was called ANSI/AWWA B300-53T.
ANSI/AWWA B300-18 is available on the ANSI Webstore.
