"Lead pipes???" Topic

So we're in temporary quarters for another two weeks while construction wraps on our new home. In January. we got a note from the local utility company informing us that the pipes feeding water to this rental house (circa 1942) were lead.

I was fairly alarmed but they recommended that we simply run the water a few minutes to clear any contaminated water. So we dutifully did this all winter, figuring no big deal.

This morning, the company calls to book a test and the woman offers me a water filter. I explain that we're moving in two weeks and decline the offer. She then asks if we have kids (one, almost 5) and she goes on how we really need either a filter or to use bottled water for our daughter "to prevent brain damage".

So I ask her why I'm hearing about this now and nothing was in the original letter except "run the water". No really good answer was forthcoming. Anyhow, we'll use bottled for two weeks and nothing seems amiss with the child (not walk in circles or anything) but what the hell?

This isn't the third world, the effects of lead are not new, and the utility is big company with adequate staff. You'd think "lead in the water" would elicit a careful plan of action, rather than a half-assed "run the water" advisory followed by a change of mind that they didn't publicize and that I only learned about by chance.

Arrrgh.

How long have you been there? Do have the test done, and discuss it with your doctor if it's above legal limits.

…and a lawyer.

I agree. See a lawyer. Document everything.

A lawyer won't do you any good. The water suppliers will have limited immunity.

New lead service pipes were abandoned in the US during the 1920s, though I understand lead pipes were still being installed in Great Britain until the 1960s.

This blog states that "During the 1930s and 1940s, lead "service" pipes were used to connect tens of thousands of new homes across Ontario, in every major cities (Ottawa, Toronto) and towns, to municipal water supplies."
link

Here is Alberta's standards for lead in water:
PDF link

Edmonton specific:
"Only 2.5 per cent of the 213,000 homes in Edmonton have lead service lines, Stanley said. They are only found connected to older homes. Between 1910 and 1950, about 10 per cent of new homes were connected to the water mains with lead."
link

Homes built in the US until 1986 with copper pipes often used lead based solder. New brass faucets and fittings still contain lead.

US water suppliers are not required to replace lead service lines unless the lead in the water exceeds a certain level (15 parts per billion IIRC). They are not responsible to pipes located within the home.

Many water treatment systems add a phosphate to the water which coats the inside of the pipes and reduces lead contamination. The pH of the water also affects contamination (more acidic causes higher contamination).

When water stands in lead pipes or plumbing systems containing lead for several hours or more, the lead may dissolve into your drinking water. This means the first water drawn from the tap in the morning, or later in the afternoon after returning from work or school, can contain high levels of lead.

So to reduce lead exposure:
1. Run cold-water taps for about a minute, until the water is chilled and the sitting water has run through.

2. Do not cook with or drink hot tap water. Hot water can dissolve lead more quickly than cold water. If you need hot water, draw water from the cold water tap and heat it on the stove.

3. To conserve water, fill a couple of bottles for drinking water after flushing the tap, and whenever possible use the first flush water to wash dishes, water plants or for other purposes that do not involve cooking and drinking.

Regards, the Gorb

Yeah, just get the test. It's entirely possible that your kid wasn't exposed to dangerous levels of the stuff.

-Kle.

Thanks for the info (esp Gorb).

We're having the water tested tomorrow and will see what the levels are like. My daughter is due for a checkup shortly and I'll bring it up then. We've only been here 8 months and the neighbours (many going on 50 years) don't seem to have suffered ill effects (although lead affects kids differently due to uptake rates, body mass and development).

My frustration is with the half-assed response by the utility company. First, an innocuous letter with vague advice about maybe getting a water filter (they'll supply a single filter but not the cartridges, although their filter won't actually fit my tap) or just running the water. Then this very different and alarmed phone call occasioned only because I mentioned the house was being knocked down after we move.

It seems to me there either is a risk or there isn't. If it is grey, then more forceful language about precautions was due. It isn't like I didn't read the material or just blew it off. Anyhow, what are you gonna do (besides get the testing done and drinking bottled water). Hopefully this is all much ado about nothing.

Lead and children are a ticklish combo. Obviously, everyone once had lead pipes and we did not have an entire generation of brain damaged children. On the other hand, some kids are very sensitive and even a little will do terrible things, possibly contributing to a vulnerability for ADD or some form of autism.

There's an analysis that doctors can do to hair to see how much lead the child has been exposed to. Running the water is actually better than it sounds, but kids can be very sensitive. So…

Document everything, save the letters.

Get the water tested, I'd to it with some water first out of the tap in the morning, but do a "run it a bit first" test as well. The first is for the lawsuit, the second is for peace of mind. I think the lead tests are $12-20.

See a doctor about doing a hair analysis.

Use bottled water.

Say a prayer or two.

We bought a house built in 1987 in a brand new development, and the first thing I did was test the water for lead. Okay, not the first thing, but first week.

Andrew

@Bob – You can also go directly to your pediatrician and request a lead level test of your daughter's blood.

That would be the best (and only) way to know. More here:
PDF link

My daughter tested high lead once from a capillary test. Her venous test came back negative.

Regards, the Gorb

If your water has a high dissolved solid content in it with the right PH levels, it probably coated the lead through a chemical reaction and your lead levels are going to be well below the standard PPM limit for drinking water. Rome had water through the aquaducts which were all sealed with poured lead at each seam – and they had no ill effects because of the total dissolved solids (calcium deposits coated the lead) in the water. If you are truly concerned – take your water down and have it tested. Take a sample first thing in the morning, after the water has sat in the pipes all night, and take one after you have let the water run until cold or a few minutes, and then do the same with the hot water too, take a sample from being in the pipe all night, and then one after letting it get hot. There are a number of places you could get the water tested – ask specifically to test it for lead contamination. They can then tell you how many PPM of lead you have in your water, and what is considered the safe level for everyone and where your water sits relative to the standards. I grew up in a house with lead pipe all over – I don't seem to have had any ill-effects of course I could but wouldn't realize it.

60 year old lead pipes should be thoroughly coated with water deposits. You're effectively drinking from hard water pipes. In any case, from what I've heard there is precious little evidence that lead from pipes can appreciably leach into water at all, let alone to dangerous levels. Lead paint on the other hand is a very real danger. Lead solder and lead in certain types of pottery are also somewhat dangerous. Apparently, the lead in pipes is much less soluble then that used in solder or paint.

Basically unless you have acidic water, lead pipes are not dangerous. You might want to replace lead hot water pipes though, although those are usually copper.

You want to have fun? Start speculating about what leaches in from PVC pipes which are pretty common now. Hard plastics *should* be ok, but they don't really know for sure.

I think every house I've ever lived in has had lead pipes, including the current one. I can understand you being anxious, but the risks are low – just run the taps for 30 seconds or so in the morning.

My kids are in their late teens now and don't have high levels of lead, my younger daughter in particular has a lot of regular blood tests due to her kidney problems and her lead levels are fine (unlike her sodium, potassium and phosphate levels).