Drinking
Water Contaminants
Lead
Actions You Can
Take To Reduce Lead In Drinking Water
Anytime the water in a particular faucet
has not been used for six hours or longer, "flush" your cold-water
pipes by running the water until it becomes as cold as it will get.
(This could take as little as five to
thirty seconds if there has been recent heavy water use such as showering or
toilet flushing.
Otherwise, it could take two minutes or
longer.) The more time water has been sitting in your home's pipes, the more
lead it may contain.
Use Only Cold
Water for Consumption
Use only water from
the cold-water tap for drinking, cooking, and especially
for making baby formula. Hot water is likely to contain higher levels of
lead.
.
The two actions recommended above are very important to the health of your family.
.
The two actions recommended above are very important to the health of your family.
They will probably be effective in reducing
lead levels because most of the lead in household water usually comes from the
plumbing in your house, not from the local water supply.
Have Your Water
Tested
After you have
taken the two precautions above for reducing the lead in water used for
drinking or cooking, have your water tested.
The only way to be sure of the amount oflead in your household water is to have it tested by a competent certified laboratory.
Your water supplier may be able to offer
information or assistance with testing.
Testing is especially important for
apartment dwellers, because flushing may not be effective in high-rise
buildings with lead-soldered central piping.
Why
lead is a problem
Although it has been used in numerous consumer products, lead is a toxic metal now known to be harmful to human health if inhaled or ingested.
Although it has been used in numerous consumer products, lead is a toxic metal now known to be harmful to human health if inhaled or ingested.
Important sources of
lead exposure include: ambient air, soil and dust (both inside and outside the
home), food (which can be contaminated by lead in the air or in food
containers), and water (from the corrosion of plumbing)..
On average, it is estimated that lead in drinking water contributes between 10 and 20 percent of total lead exposure in young children.
On average, it is estimated that lead in drinking water contributes between 10 and 20 percent of total lead exposure in young children.
Federal controls on
lead in gasoline have significantly reduced people's exposure to lead.
The degree of harm
depends upon the level of exposure (from all sources).
Known effects of
exposure to lead range from subtle biochemical changes at low levels of
exposure, to severe neurological and toxic effects or even death at extremely
high levels.
Health
Threats From Lead
Too
much lead in the human body can cause serious damage to the brain, kidneys,
nervous system, and red blood cells.
You have the greatest
risk, even with short term exposure, if you are a young child, or you are pregnant.
Sources
of Lead in Drinking Water
- your home has
faucets or fittings of brass which contains some lead, or
- your home or water
system has lead pipes, or
- your home has
copper pipes with solder, and
- the house is less
than five years old, or
- you have naturally
soft water, or
-
water often sits in the pipes for several hours.
Young children,infants and fetuses appear to be particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning.
A dose of lead that
would have little effect on an adult can have a big effect on a small body.
Also, growing children will more rapidly adsorb any lead they consume.
A child's mental,
physical, and neurological development can
be irreversibly stunted by over-exposure to lead.
In infants, whose
diet consists of liquids made with water - such as baby formula - lead in
drinking water makes up an even greater proportion of total lead exposure (40
to 60 percent).
Typically, lead gets
into your water after the water leaves your local treatment plant or your well.
That is, the source of lead in your home's water is most likely pipe or solder
in your home's own plumbing.
Dissolved oxygen, low
pH (acidity) and low mineral content in water are common causes of corrosion.
Lead-contaminated
drinking water is most often a problem in houses that are either very old or
very new. Up through the early 1900's, it was common practice, in some areas of
the country, to use lead pipes for interior plumbing.
Also, lead piping was
often used for the service connections that join residences to public water
supplies. (This practice ended only recently in some localities.) Plumbing
installed before 1930 is most likely to contain lead.
Copper pipes have
replaced lead pipes in most residential plumbing. However, the use of lead
solder with copper pipes is widespread. Experts regard this lead solder as the
major cause of lead contamination of household water in U.S. homes today.
.
New brass faucets and fittings can also leach lead, even though they are "lead-free." Scientific data indicate that the newer the home, the greater the risk of lead contamination.
.
New brass faucets and fittings can also leach lead, even though they are "lead-free." Scientific data indicate that the newer the home, the greater the risk of lead contamination.
Lead levels decrease
as a building ages. This is because, as time passes, mineral deposits form a
coating on the inside of the pipes (if the water is not corrosive). This
coating insulates the water from the solder.
But, during the first
five years (before the coating forms) water is in direct contact with the lead.
More likely than not, water in buildings less than five years old has high
levels of lead contamination.
Since you cannot see,taste, or smell lead dissolved in water, testing is the only sure way of
telling whether or not there are harmful quantities of lead in your drinking
water.
You should be
particularly suspicious if your home has lead pipes (lead is a dull gray metal
that is soft enough to be easily scratched with a house key).
If you see signs of
corrosion (frequent leaks, rust-colored water, stained dishes or laundry, or if
your non-plastic plumbing is less than five years old.
Lead
in sources other than drinking water
Drinking
water is estimated to contribute only 10 to 20 percent of the total lead
exposure in young children.
A few general
precautions can help prevent contact with lead in and around your home:
· Avoid
removing paint in the home unless you are sure it contains no lead. Lead paint
should only be removed by someone who knows how to protect you from lead paint
dust..
· Never
store food in open cans, Keep it in glass plastic or stainless steel containers.
Use glazed pottery only for display if you don't know whether it contains lead.
· If
you work around lead, don't bring it home. Shower and change clothes at work
and wash your work clothes separately.
U. S. Federal
standards initially limited the amount of lead in water to 50 parts per billion
(ppb). In light of new health and exposure data, EPA has set an action level of
15 ppb.
If tests show that
the level of lead in your household water is in the area of 15 ppb or higher,
it is advisable - especially if there are young children in the home - to
reduce the lead level in your tap water as much as possible.
Drinking
water is estimated to contribute only 10 to 20 percent of the total lead
exposure in young children.
A few general
precautions can help prevent contact with lead in and around your home:
· Avoid
removing paint in the home unless you are sure it contains no lead. Lead paint
should only be removed by someone who knows how to protect you from lead paint
dust.
.
.
However, by washing
floors, window sills, carpets, upholstery and any objects children put in their
mouths, you can get rid of this source of lead.
(EPA estimates that
more than 40 million U.S. residents use water that can contain lead in excess
of 15 ppb.) Note: One ppb is equal to 1.0 microgram per liter (Āµg/1) or 0.001
milligram per liter (mg/1).
Never cook with or
consume water from the hot-water tap. Hot water dissolves more lead more
quickly than cold water.
So, do not use water
taken from the hot tap for cooking or drinking, and especially not for making
baby formula.
If you need hot
water, draw water from the cold tap and heat it on the stove. Use only
thoroughly flushed water from the cold tap for any consumption.
A number of cartridge
type filtering devices are available. These devices use various types of
filtering media, including reverse osmosis, carbon, ionexchange resins, activated alumina and other privately marketed products.
The effectiveness of
these devices to reduce lead exposure at the tap can vary greatly.
If you have bought a
filter, you should replace the filter periodically as specified by the
manufacturer. Failure to do so may result in exposure to high lead levels.
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