Indoor Water Pollution: Copper
Ξ June 26th, 2008 | → | ∇ General |
Indoor Water Pollution: Copper is one of Four Harmful Problems
By Charles L Harmon
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If you are like many of us you may not know that copper is a hazard when it comes to water pollution. In fact one would never suspect that copper could cause problems since it is used in millions of homes throughout the United States. It seems that recently, however, that some homes now use plastic tubing instead of copper tubing for all the water in the home.
I bought a new home five years ago in Menifee, California and it had plastic water pipes. Then I bought another new home two years ago in Lake Elsinore, California and it two had plastic water pipes. So maybe the trend is getting away from copper tubing.
Just what is copper? It is a very popular metal used in wire, electronic circuits and other places where electricity is conducted. Its other major use is widely found in inside household plumbing. Sometimes it is used outside too as in my house in Lake Elsinore, which is twenty years old. There is a copper pipe from the water meter coming into the house which supplies all the water in the house and the hose bibs for outside water. However the sprinklers use plastic PVC tubing. Copper is a metal also found in rocks, soil, water and air.
Copper may cause some health problems when it is above 15ppb (parts per billion) in water. Persons with Wilson’s disease may be at higher risk of having harmful health effects from copper.
Too much copper in the water can cause:
Stomach problems
Liver or kidney damage
Anemia
Just how does copper find its way into your indoor water supply? When household copper pipes (reddish-brown in color) dissolve, copper gets into the tap water. This sounds like a dangerous situation in some places since it could be difficult to determine if the copper pipes in your house are defective or corroded.
Here where I live the copper pipes in many homes are buried either in the concrete or under the concrete floor of many homes. My home had a problem with the copper piping just a few years after we moved here. The copper pipes corroded all the way through and water was leaking into the concrete and possibly under the house concrete slab too. I didn’t have much money so I ended up rerouting a new copper pipe in our mini-attic for dollars instead of paying thousands to break up the concrete foundation and redo the plumbing. I had no idea that copper was dangerous for the water supply.
To keep your indoor water free of copper let the water run until you feel a temperature change to flush out dissolved copper. This extra step wastes a little water, but can help prevent you from getting sick due to water contaminated with copper.
If you want to get more information on this potential problem you can call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800) 426-4791 for information on your indoor water.
About the Author
Charles is a software developer. He also writes articles for websites. One of his favorite interests is online dating - visit http://unlonely.com. For travel articles visit Travel List to share your favorite travel destination. Charles is writing about the real life story of caring for someone (Mr. Q) with Alzheimer’s disease.