Indoor Water Pollution: Lead
Ξ June 16th, 2008 | → | ∇ General |
Indoor Water Pollution: Lead is one of Four Harmful Problems
By Charles L Harmon
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When we think of our water in our home or apartment we don’t really scrutinize the water. Yes some of us, especially the younger generation, automatically buy bottled water or water in bottles from the store. That’s well and good if that is you, but what about cooking or ice cubes from your refrigerator. Even though refrigerator water might be filtered, there is still a chance of getting some polluted water, especially if the filter is dirty.
Indoor water is the water you and your family use in your home for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and laundry and possibly other uses. Lead, copper, arsenic and pesticides can cause indoor water to become harmful to you and your family’s health. Here are some things to know and watch out for concerning the possibility of lead in the water in your home.
LEAD
Lead is a heavy metal that has been taken out of the earth, refined, and used in brass, water pipes and solder that comes in contact with water. Lead is harmful if it gets in your indoor water supply. Lead acts like a poison when it gets inside your body. It does not allow calcium to work as it should in your body. If someone drinks water that contains lead it can cause damage to the brain, red blood cells and kidneys.
Infants and young children are more at risk of having elevated blood lead levels (above 10?g/dL). The National Primary Drinking Water Regulations set an upper limit of 15ppm (parts per billion) for lead in drinking water. You may have heard warnings of lead in faucets. There is good reason for those warnings. It can be one way lead can get into your indoor water supply.
These are some ways lead can get into your indoor water.
* Through lead pipes in your home
* Brass faucets
* Lead solder used to join copper pipes
How can you keep your indoor water lead free? You can cook with only cold water from your facet. Same goes for drinking. Try not to drink the first stream water out of your tap in the morning. Let the tap run at least two minutes. The more time water has been sitting in your home’s pipes, the more lead it may contain. Yes that wastes water, but it’s well worth it to reduce your chances of lead being in your water. Water filters can get rid of lead, but remember that they need to be changed as recommended otherwise the filtering is compromised.
Have Your Water Tested
Once you have taken the two precautions above for reducing the lead in water used for drinking or cooking, have your water tested. The only way to be sure of the amount of lead in your household water is to have it tested by a competent laboratory. Your water supplier may be able to offer information or assistance with testing. Testing your indoor water is especially important for apartment dwellers, because flushing may not be effective in high-rise buildings with lead-soldered central piping. Also if you are pregnant or have young children it’s important you don’t expose them to the hazards of lead and testing is a way to insure your indoor water is safe.
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 with Alzheimer’s disease.