Did you know that lead – a heavy metal – can contaminate your water supply? Yes is the answer. The reason this is a possibility is because the source of drinking water for many people is open and unsafe. Also, while many modern structures use PVC pipes for plumbing, some older structures have lead plumbing works as this was the practice at that time.
Hence, this article seeks to enlighten you on the facts about lead, and its presence in water.
Between 10% and 20% of exposure to lead comes from contaminated water. Lead stays and builds up over time, so continuous exposure, even at extremely low levels can become toxic. You cannot absorb lead through the skin while showering or bathing with lead-contaminated water, but you certainly don’t want to drink it, cook with it, or use it to brush your teeth.
How Can Water Supply be Contaminated with Lead?
Lead can enter your home when lead plumbing materials, which can include taps, pipes, fittings and the solder that holds them all together rust and begin to release lead into the water. Corrosion is most likely to happen when water has a high acid or low mineral content, and sits inside pipes for several hours.
Before using any water in your home, run your shower or tap on cold — never warm or hot — for at least five minutes. Heating water as it comes out of the pipes increases lead levels, then run your kitchen tap on cold — again, never warm or hot — for an additional two minutes. You can fill clean containers with this water and use it for drinking, cooking, and the like. While boiling water might remove other contaminants, it won’t remove lead.
What about bottled water? Be sure to check out the quality of the water before you buy. Some bottled waters are nothing more than tap water or have not been tested.
You can also filter your water. Again, caution is in order, as not all filtering systems block lead. While many popular filters may filter other contaminants, they do not meet today’s standards for lead reduction.
How Can Lead be Detected in Water?
- Because lead is odourless and has no taste, the only way you will know if you have lead in your home’s tap water is to have it tested.
- You may do this by buying a lead testing kit from home improvement stores (check big superstores and medical supplies stores) to collect the testing samples.
- Be sure to follow directions carefully and only use “first-draw water,” this is the very first water coming out of your pipes after sitting overnight. If your pipes are contaminated, that water will have the most accumulation of toxins.
- Send the samples off to a laboratory for analysis. The most reliable testing will be got in a state-certified lab
Finding out about lead in your water is only one part of the solution. Lead enters our bodies from many common contaminated sources other than drinking water, such as dust, soil and air. In fact, lead exposure may be through inhaling dust or eating particles contaminated by paint chips. That’s because lead was a common additive in house paint, fuel, and many other materials for years before its toxicity was known.
Children, especially foetuses and infants are the most vulnerable, because it takes very little lead exposure to damage a child compared to an adult. Low levels of lead exposure are linked to damage to a child’s blood cells and nervous system, as well as learning disabilities, poor hearing, impaired growth and more.
