More than ten million US homes, schools, and businesses are still delivering water through lead pipes. Even after the Flint water crisis that brought toxic levels of lead in tap water to the national stage, lead is still found in hot spots across the whole country. Why? Lead was the most common material used for plumbing up until the 1950’s and wasn’t regulated until 1991. Since pipes are buried underground, it can be challenging to find out what material was used. This is especially true for old buildings. And, since lead toxicity is more harmful to children than adults, the presence of lead in schools and family homes nationwide is of major concern. Please read on for a brief history of lead, the effects of toxicity on children and adults, and what you can do to make sure you’re drinking water from a safe source.
History
Lead pipes have been used for a long time, as far back as Mesopotamia and Ancient Rome. Some even hypothesize that lead poisoning caused the fall of the Roman Empire. That, of course, is speculative, but it does drive the point home: Lead is dangerous.
Transporting water isn’t easy, and finding durable materials poses quite a challenge. Wood, clay, cast iron, fiber conduit, concrete, copper have all had their run and have different benefits and drawbacks. For instance, lead, although toxic, lasts over 35 years, while iron only lasts 16 years. It’s not easy or cheap to replace pipes, and durability won out. By 1900, 70% of pipes in the United States were made with lead. Toxicity was no secret, even then. There are newspaper articles as far back as 1903 citing lead poisoning in children as a cause of death. By the 1950’s, lead was the industry standard. In 1991, regulations were established and lead pipes are no longer used. However, it takes a great deal of time and resources to find and replace old lead pipes, making this an ongoing process.
How Does Lead Get Into Your Tap Water?
Lead enters our municipal water supply due to corrosion of lead pipes and fixtures. Corrosion occurs as water leaches materials out of the pipes themselves and increases concentration of potential contaminants in the water supply to homes, schools, and any other sources of drinking water. In municipalities with acidic water or low mineral content, corrosion happens more readily. Additionally, the amount of lead, temperature (lead pipes in hot locations leach more easily), and how long water stays in the pipes all contribute to corrosion rates.
Corrosion is a dissolving or wearing away of metal caused by a chemical reaction between water and your plumbing.” – Environmental Protection Agency
Sources of Lead in Tap Water
- Lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures
- Lead services lines – homes with lead pipes that lead all the way to the water main
- Older cities and homes built before 1986
- Brass or chrome-plated brass faucets or plumbing with lead solder (CDC)
Toxicity
Lead poisoning occurs over time as it accumulates in the brain, kidneys, liver, bones, and teeth. That’s why very low amounts are dangerous- a little every day adds up to a lot of a very dangerous substance in our bodies. Children are sensitive to lead at much lower levels than adults. The good news? Lead toxicity is preventable with education and finding out if your home is a source of lead.
“There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.” World Health Organization
Children
When exposed to even very low levels of lead over a long period of time, children can be affected drastically. 
At high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal by attacking the brain and central nervous system. Low levels of exposure can cause developmental problems, changes in behavior, iron deficiency, high blood pressure, kidney problems, reproductive organ toxicity, and immunotoxicity. The WHO states that, “the neurological and behavioural effects of lead are believed to be irreversible.” Since so many of the effects of lead affect development, children under six and infants are at the highest risk for severe effects. This is why it’s exceptionally disconcerting that so many schools have lead pipes.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, minerals and nutrients are pulled from the bones and enter the bloodstream to eventually nourish a growing baby. Bones not only store calcium and beneficial nutrients- they also store dangerous toxins to keep them out of our bloodstream where they cause more harm. When bones release lead into general circulation, it exposes both the pregnant person and baby and can cause toxicity. Pregnant people experience higher instance of miscarriage, stillbirth or premature birth. Lead can also cause low birth rates and slowed growth in newborn babies.
Adults
Adults exposed to lead may experience high blood pressure, joint and muscle pain, headaches, abdominal pain, increased emotional distress, poor memory, inability to concentrate, and infertility in males.
Regulations & Progress
As part of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1991, the EPA released the Lead and Copper Rule. The Lead and Copper Rule requires testing at the tap, not just at the treatment facility. It also requires municipalities with lead pipes in their communities to use anti-corrosive treatments, meaning the city will add substances that will affect the pH to prevent corrosion from pipes into the water supply. This is the piece of the puzzle that didn’t happen in Flint. Corrosion resulted in very high levels of lead in public water supply. Mistakes have high consequences when it comes to lead. Additionally, water chemistry frequently fluctuates. When that happens, “the corrosion controls can fail.” (Huff Post). The city is also required by the EPA to alert the public if their water contains lead, so that they can protect themselves.
What can YOU do to make sure your water is Lead-Free?
Knowledge is power. The first step is to find out if your home, child’s school, or place of work has lead pipes. Here are some steps to follow:
- Check your local EPA Consumer Confidence Report or the Environmental Working Group’s Tap Water database
- When was your home and child’s school built? If it was before before 1986, there is a much higher chance of having lead pipes.
- Run cold water. If you suspect you may have older plumbing containing lead pipes or fittings, run your cold water for at least a minute before using. Don’t use hot tap water to make baby formula or for cooking. (Mayo Clinic)
- The weather. If you suspect you have lead pipes and live in a hot climate, drink filtered water during warmer months.
- Drink filtered water that has been third party tested to be Lead-Free
FreshPure® Waters’ Role
FreshPure® Waters is Lead-Free. Two steps in our purification process remove lead: Activated Carbon and Reverse Osmosis. Although many small home filters also use carbon, they take vigilance to maintain. You must replace cartridges early- when they are full and left unchanged, these filters will actually release toxins collected over time back into the water. If you know or suspect that your water may be contaminated, we recommend alerting the city and purchasing filtered water. Changes to plumbing are expensive and slow. In the meantime, FreshPure® Waters is an affordable, safe, lead-free option for long term use.
REFERENCES
Environmental Protection Agency. (1991). Lead and Copper Rule. Retrieved on May 10th from https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/lead-and-copper-rule
Environmental Protection Agency. Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water. Retrieved on May 1st, 2020 from https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water
Huff Post. (2016). Lots Of Cities Have The Same Lead Pipes That Poisoned Flint. Retrieved on May 6th from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lead-pipes-everywhere_n_56a8e916e4b0f71799288f54
Los Angeles Times (2016). A brief history of how the American public was sold on toxic lead. Retrieved on May 1st, 2020 from https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-lead-pipes-20160204-story.html
Mayo Clinic. (2020). Lead Poisoning Symptoms. Retrieved on May 2nd, 2020 from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354717
NCBI. (2008). The Lead Industry and Lead Water Pipes “A MODEST CAMPAIGN”. Retrieved on May 3rd, 2020 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2509614/
US News. (2019). How to Address America’s Lead Crisis and Provide Safe Drinking Water for All. Retrieved on May 5th, 2020 from https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2019-09-03/how-to-address-americas-lead-crisis-and-provide-safe-drinking-water-for-all