The Dangers of Lead in Drinking Water
“Lead is the number-one environmental health threat to our children.” So says the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States. Those of us who have been around for a while remember the lead paint scare. After lead paint was outlawed, it took a while to remove or paint over the toxic covering. But that didn’t by any means end the ways lead can get into our bodies.
There are five heavy metals that pose a health risk when ingested: lead, cadmium, mercury, aluminum, and beryllium. The first three are the most dangerous. None of the five has any known health benefit. Lead gets into our systems through newsprint, paint, pencils, pesticides, rain water, pvc containers, tin cans with lead solder, toothpastes, metal polish, and several other means.
One major way of ingesting these poisons is through drinking water. Old houses might still have lead pipes. Though copper replaced lead a long time ago, not all houses have been upgraded. Old well casings and storage tanks might also contain lead. City water is fed by wells or rivers and they inevitably contain some level of lead. The author checked his own city water system and found the level of lead in the water he receives is 2.5 parts per billion. Levels as high as 12 ppb are still within the limits. However, the last lead test on the water was done two years before the report was issued.
Concern over lead poisoning in city water systems only increases when one reads a report from the Washington Post. Their examination of 65 of the 3,000 largest utilities found that Portland, Maine, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Providence, R.I. are “manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting millions of Americans at risk.” The report further states that more than 250 major cities currently exceed the EPA’s lead standards, and many are using deceptive means in reporting of the problems.
Though lead has no advantage to the body, it does cause serious problems. “Each year in the U.S., lead in drinking water contributes to 480,000 cases of learning disorders in children and 560,000 cases of hypertension in adult males.” The truth is, we cannot be rid of the problem of ingesting lead entirely. However, we can do as much as possible to minimize its presence.
The effect of lead in the human body is frightening. Some of the problems, in alphabetical order are myelopathy (spinal cord pathology), nausea, nephritis, nightmares, numbness, Parkinson’s disease, peripheral neuropathies, psychosis, psychomotor dysfunction, pyorrhea, renal dysfunction, restlessness, retardation, schizophrenia, seizures, sterility, stillbirths, sudden infant death syndrome, tingling, tooth decay, vertigo, and unintentional weight loss.
The list continues. In summary, the leading areas of concern are kidney problems and nervous system damage. As you can see, these are not the only problems lead causes, but they are certainly a legitimate concern.
What can we do about this problem? First, check your house for any lead pipes that carry water and replace them immediately. Also, be sure if your house is old, that no lead paint is still present. This should have been checked before you bought it. Third, get a good activated charcoal water filter like the Black Berkey or their shower filter. These claim to remove 95% of the lead found in the water. Think of the peace of mind you will experience when you know you are providing for yourself and your family safe drinking water!