Lead In Drinking Water and Its Health
Effects
Introduction
The Health Effects of Lead
How Lead Enters
Drinking Water
Steps To Reduce Lead In Drinking
Water
Additional Steps To Reduce Lead
Exposure
Other Sources of Information
Where You Can Test Drinking Water
Introduction
The United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and Broward County Water & Wastewater Services
(WWS) are concerned about lead in your drinking water. Although most homes
have very low levels of lead in their drinking water, some homes in the
community have lead levels above the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion
(ppb), or 0.015 milligrams of lead per liter of water (mg/L). Under Federal
law, we are required to have a program in place to minimize lead in your
drinking water by January 1, 1997. This program includes corrosion control
treatment, source water treatment, and public education. We are also required
to replace each lead service line that we control if the line contributes lead
concentrations of 15 ppb or more after we have completed the comprehensive
treatment program. If you have any questions about how we are carrying out the
requirements of the lead regulation, please give us a call at
831-3250. This article explains the simple steps
you can take to protect you and your family by reducing your exposure to lead
in drinking water.
Top of Page
The Health Effects of
Lead
Lead is a common metal found throughout the environment in
lead-based paint, air, soil, household dust, food, certain types of pottery,
porcelain, pewter and water. Lead can pose a significant risk to your health if
too much of it enters your body. Lead builds up in the body over many years and
can cause damage to the brain, red blood cells and kidneys. The greatest risk
is to young children and pregnant women. Amounts of lead that won't hurt adults
can slow down normal mental and physical development of growing bodies. In
addition, a child at play often comes into contact with sources of lead
contamination - like dirt and dust - that rarely affect an adult. It is
important to wash children's hands and toys often, and try to make sure they
only put food in their mouths.
Top of Page
How Lead Enters
Drinking Water
Lead is unusual among drinking water
contaminants in that it seldom occurs naturally in water supplies like rivers
and lakes. Lead enters drinking water primarily as a result of the corrosion,
or wearing away, of materials containing lead in the
water distribution system and household plumbing. These materials include
lead-based solder used to join copper pipe, brass and chrome plated brass
faucets, and in some cases, pipes made of lead that connect your house to the
water main (service lines). In 1986, Congress banned the use of lead solder
containing greater that 0.2% lead, and restricted the lead content of faucets,
pipes and other plumbing materials to 8.0%.
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 fairly high levels of lead.
Top of Page
Steps To Reduce Lead
In Drinking Water
Despite our best efforts mentioned
earlier to control water corrosivity and remove lead from the water supply,
lead levels in some homes or buildings can be high. To find out whether you
need to take action in your own home, have your drinking water tested to
determine if it contains excessive concentrations of lead. Testing the water is
essential because you cannot see, taste, or smell lead in drinking water. Some
local laboratories that can provide this service are listed at the end of this
article. For more information on having your water tested, please call (954)
831-3250.
If a water test indicates that the
drinking water drawn from a tap in your home contains lead above 15 ppb, then
you should take the following precautions:
-
Let the water run from the tap
before using it for drinking or cooking any time the water in a faucet has gone
unused for more than six hours. The longer water resides in you home's
plumbing, the more lead it may contain. Flushing the tap means running the cold
water faucet until the water gets noticeably colder, usually about 15-30
seconds. If your house has a lead service line to the water main, you may have
to flush the water for a longer time, perhaps one minute, before drinking.
Although toilet flushing or showering flushes water through a portion of you
home's plumbing system, you still need to flush the water in each faucet before
using it for drinking or cooking. Flushing tap water is a simple and
inexpensive measure you can take to protect you family's health. It usually
uses less than one or two gallons of water and costs less than 16 cents per
month. 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 the
dishes or water the plants. If you live in a high-rise building, letting the
water flow before using it may not work to lessen your risk for lead.
-
The plumbing systems have more, and
sometimes larger pipes than smaller buildings. Ask your landlord for help in
locating the source of the lead and for advice on reducing the lead level.
Try not to cook with, or drink
water from the hot water tap. Hot water can dissolve more lead more quickly
than cold water. If you need hot water, draw water from the cold tap and heat
it on the stove.
Remove loose lead solder and debris
from the plumbing materials installed in newly constructed homes or homes in
which the plumbing has recently been replaced by removing the faucet strainers
from all taps and running the water from 3 to 5 minutes. Thereafter,
periodically remove the strainers and flush out any debris that has accumulated
over time.
If your copper pipes are joined
with lead solder that has been installed illegally since it was banned in 1986,
notify the plumber who did the work and request that he or she replace the lead
solder with lead-free solder. Lead solder looks dull gray, and when scratched
with a key - looks shiny. In addition, notify the State Health Department about
the violation.
Determine whether or not the
service line that connects your home or apartment to the water main is made of
lead. The best way to determine if your service line is made of lead is by
either hiring a licensed plumber to inspect the line or by contacting the
plumbing contractor who installed the line. You can identify the plumbing
contractor by checking the city's record of building permits which should be
maintained in the files of the Broward County Building and Permitting Division,
765-5160. A licensed plumber can at the same time check to see if your home's
plumbing contains lead solder, lead pipes or pipe fittings, that contain lead.
The public water system that delivers water to your home should also maintain
records of the materials located in the distribution system. If the service
line that connects your dwelling to the water main contributes more that 15 ppb
to drinking water, after our comprehensive treatment program is in place, we
are required to replace the line. If the line is only partially controlled by
the Broward County Fiscal Operations Division, we are required to provide you
with information on how to replace your portion of the service line, and offer
to replace that portion of the line at your expense and take a follow-up tap
water sample within 14 days of the replacement. Acceptable replacement
alternatives include copper, steel, iron, and plastic pipes.
Have an electrician check your
wiring. If grounding wires from the electrical system are attached to your
pipes, corrosion may be greater. Check with a licensed electrician or your
local electrical code to determine if your wiring can be grounded elsewhere. DO
NOT attempt to change the wiring yourself because improper grounding can cause
electrical shock and fire hazards.
Top of Page
Additional Steps
To Reduce Lead Exposure
The steps described previously will
reduce the lead concentrations in your drinking water. However, if a water test
indicated that the drinking water coming from your tap contains lead
concentrations in excess of 15 ppb after flushing or after we have completed
our actions to minimize lead levels, then your may want to take the following
additional measures:
Purchase or lease a home treatment
device. Home treatment devices are limited in that each unit treats only water
that flows from the faucet to which it is connected, and all of the devices
require periodic maintenance and replacement. Devices such as reverse osmosis
systems or distillers can effectively remove lead from your drinking water.
Some activated carbon filters may reduce lead levels at the tap; however, all
lead reduction claims should be investigated. Be sure to check the actual
performance of a specific home treatment device before and after installing the
unit.
- Purchase bottled water for drinking
and cooking.
Top of Page
Other Sources of
Information
You can consult a variety of sources
for additional information. Your family doctor or pediatrician can perform a
blood test for lead and provide you with information about the health effects
of lead. State and local government agencies that can be contacted
include:
Broward County Fiscal Operations
Division at (954) 831-3250 can provide you with information about you
community's water supply and a list of local laboratories that have been
certified by EPA for testing water quality.
Broward County Building and Permitting
Division at (954) 765-5160 can provide you with information about
building permit records that should contain the names of plumbing contractors
that plumbed your home.
The State of Florida Health Department
in Broward County at (954) 467-4854 can provide you with information
about the health effects of lead and how you can have your child's blood
tested.
top
Where You Can Test
Drinking Water
The following is a list of some State
approved laboratories in your area that you can call to have your water tested
for lead.
Spectrum Labs
1460 West Mc Nab Road
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
33309
Phone: 978-6400
IEA
1133 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway
Sunrise, Florida
33323
Phone: 846-1730
Savannah
Laboratories
414 S.W. 12
Avenue
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442
Phone: 421-7400
Water & Wastewater Services
2555 West Copans
Road
Pompano Beach, FL 33069
765-4710
