Contamination from Lead Solder Used on Household Water
Pipes Can Be Toxic to Infants & Children,
According to ACE DuraFlo Systems
SEATTLE, Wash. – (BUSINESS WIRE) – July
8, 2004 – The Fyfe family was ecstatic
to be moving into their brand new house just
before Christmas about five years ago – but
the joy of their new home disappeared quickly
when their son Brandon became seriously ill
for no apparent reason within weeks of moving
into their suburban housing tract.
Brandon had always been an active boy, but
he began to experience nausea and severe
headaches every night. Examinations by local
doctors found no cause, and treatment with
antibiotics didn't work. As Brandon became
increasingly anemic and would no longer go
out to play, his mother noticed that he became
more ill after using water from one particular
faucet in the bathroom, where he brushed
his teeth twice a day. The family contacted
their local Environmental Health Department
and water samples taken from kitchen and
bathroom sinks showed there were very high
lead levels in their water – nearly
eight times the limit allowed by law!
Based on the Fyfe family's discovery, a
survey was done randomly on 95 other new
homes in the area and it was discovered that
10 of the brand new homes had levels of lead
in the water supply that were over the legal
limit.
As terrifying as it may have been, the Fyfe
family's predicament wasn't a random occurrence.
It's becoming a nightmare in some parts of
the world because people are simply unaware
of how dangerous lead can be when it leaches
into household water. Too much lead in the
human body can cause serious damage, and
young children, infants and fetuses are especially
vulnerable to lead poisoning.
There are many sources of lead in the environment.
If they think of it at all, most people think
of lead-based paint as the primary source
of lead in the environment, but lead has
been outlawed for use in paint for many years
now. In reality the growing levels of lead
in water supplies are making it a much more
common source of contamination.
Lead rarely occurs naturally in drinking
water. It's far more common for lead contamination
to occur at some point in the water delivery
system. It isn't well known, but household
plumbing is usually the culprit when it comes
to high levels of lead and copper in drinking
water. Lead and/or copper pipes, fittings
and other components are commonly found in
many plumbing systems. Metallic alloys such
as brass and bronze often contain lead, so
brass faucets or plumbing fittings may also
release lead into home water systems.
Older houses are more likely to have problems
with lead than houses built since 1988. Before
that time, lead piping and lead solder were
widely used in household plumbing systems
as well as in the service lines that connect
houses to street water mains. In 1986, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
banned the use of lead pipes and lead solder
in plumbing systems because lead is an insidious
and dangerous poison. The EPA set an "action
level" of .015 milligrams per liter
of water for lead, stating that levels higher
than that in water could pose a risk to human
health.
Contacts
LF |PR
8935 Research Suite 200
Irvine, CA 92618
zaynabb@lucidfusion.com
949-502-7750 x.202
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