lead in water

[stevenal]

With lead in water making the news lately, I decided to do some testing at home. With all new 2006 cpvc plumbing, I didn't expect to see much of a problem, but was concerned about the 2006 brass fixtures. Sure enough, the first draw off of a bathroom sink faucet exceeded the federal limit. It looks like the newer versions of the very same faucet models are built to stricter standards, so I'm starting to change them out one by one. Looking a bit further out, the camper water supply is my next concern. The camper has Quest plumbing and plastic faucets, so I should be in great shape. However, I generally fill the tank prior to leaving home from an outdoor faucet. Using the same logic as before, perhaps I can perform an exact swap. Looking at http://www.woodfordmfg.com/woodford/LowLeadLaw.html, I see the manufacturer has easily sidestepped the law by claiming they don't anticipate anyone using these faucets to supply water for human consumption. And not even a warning label on the new faucets to indicate this determination. So there you have it. Not only must we take our chances on the road with old pre- safe water drinking act equipment, the newest equipment may not be any better. I suggest we start informing the manufacturers how we use this stuff so they can adjust their anticipations. And in the meantime, let the water run awhile to flush out the lead before filling your tank or taking a drink when hooked up.

[gbopp]

Horizon170 wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
After all the years of drinking hot water from a rubber garden hose, eating/chewing on lead based paint growing up, wallowing in Red Lead paint in NAVY bilges along with the 30 yrs exposure to asbestos I doubt a little lead leaching from a brass fixture is going to cause ME an issues.

My Immune System was heavily assaulted and has survived.....:B

Don't forget the Mercury we poured into our palms and rubbed pennies in it to make them shinny, and biting lead split shot on fishing lines.:B

We rubbed dimes in mercury to make them shiny. The pennies we would put on the train tracks to have them flattened. :C

[3oaks]

Horizon170 wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
After all the years of drinking hot water from a rubber garden hose, eating/chewing on lead based paint growing up, wallowing in Red Lead paint in NAVY bilges along with the 30 yrs exposure to asbestos I doubt a little lead leaching from a brass fixture is going to cause ME an issues.

My Immune System was heavily assaulted and has survived.....:B

Don't forget the Mercury we poured into our palms and rubbed pennies in it to make them shinny, and biting lead split shot on fishing lines.:B

Oh boy, does that bring back memories. 🙂

And how about all lead pipes running from springs to the farm houses. My grandparents both lived to be in their late 90s drinking water delivered through those lead pipes. Maybe the frogs in the springhouse counter acted the lead. :B

[ktmrfs]

old garden hoses can be a problem as well. For a long time lead was added to many plastic extrusions to make them easier to draw. Garden hoses were one such application. I think the lead free laws for lead in items anyone comes in contact with put an end to that with hoses.

But that law came into effect probably about 10 years ago, so unless you have a long lasting hose your probably ok.

[stevenal]

My provider is me. The before and after flushing tests confirmed the faucet is the lead source, and not the spring I pump from.

30 seconds works pretty good if the faucet you're standing at is the lead source. Depending on how long your hose is, 30s may not be long enough to clear the faucet you hook up to. Even the 2006 faucets in my house complied with the old standard, but evidently hose bib faucets are exempt from all standards if the manufacturer claims it never anticipated human consumption of the water supplied.

I also grew up with exposure, breathing exhaust fumes from leaded gasoline. All the more reason to limit exposure going forward. It all accumulates.

[Horizon170]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
After all the years of drinking hot water from a rubber garden hose, eating/chewing on lead based paint growing up, wallowing in Red Lead paint in NAVY bilges along with the 30 yrs exposure to asbestos I doubt a little lead leaching from a brass fixture is going to cause ME an issues.

My Immune System was heavily assaulted and has survived.....:B

Don't forget the Mercury we poured into our palms and rubbed pennies in it to make them shinny, and biting lead split shot on fishing lines.:B

[naturist]

garyemunson wrote:
Remember, the first bit of water to come out of a faucet after sitting a while may test high for lead but just a few seconds of flushing the water standing in the fixture should provide water meeting the supplier's specs. I doubt water passing through a fixture picks up any testable level of lead contamination.

Running the water full blast for 30 seconds clears nearly all the lead in most cases. But only if the source is the fixtures/plumbing in the house. There are a few locations where the lead is due to sources outside the house, nearly always in municipal systems that have lots of ancient supply pipes.

[garyemunson]

Remember, the first bit of water to come out of a faucet after sitting a while may test high for lead but just a few seconds of flushing the water standing in the fixture should provide water meeting the supplier's specs. I doubt water passing through a fixture picks up any testable level of lead contamination.

[coolmom42]

None of those changes will make any difference if the lead is in your water supply. You can get a quality report on your water from your provider.

[Old-Biscuit]

After all the years of drinking hot water from a rubber garden hose, eating/chewing on lead based paint growing up, wallowing in Red Lead paint in NAVY bilges along with the 30 yrs exposure to asbestos I doubt a little lead leaching from a brass fixture is going to cause ME an issues.

My Immune System was heavily assaulted and has survived.....:B