A very recent warning regarding issued on Sunday:
‘Australian residents have been issued a health warning over concerns of lead poisoning from plumbing systems. Residents are being told to run their taps at least 30 seconds first thing in the morning.’ - 7 News
EnHealth recommendations to reduce lead consumption:
- Use cold water for cooking
- Run water from taps for 30 seconds every morning to flush out all residue
- When using a cold tap after several days, run the tap for 2 to 3 minutes
- Use only certified plumbing products that has low lead content or is lead-free when renovating or building your home
Lead poisoning is a very real issue rooting from lead, a heavy metal, present in drinking water. Lead intoxication occurs when higher concentration of Lead is ingested for a long term. We consume water everyday and if lead is present in drinking water the chances of lead intoxication rise much higher.
The most common source of lead is the piping, the plumbing systems used. Hence, the older plumbing systems leach more lead into water which gets dissolved easily. Drinking water is the primary source of lead poisoning.
Water quality also has a major impact on lead levels in your water. If your water is corrosive, lead and other heavy metals tend to leach more freely increasing their levels in drinking water.
There are several known, scientifically studied and confirmed effects of lead intoxication. The degree of the effects lead can have on your body depends on the concentration, how much lead goes into your body. Another major decider is where the lead from water gets stored in your body. Whichever concentrations are present, it is a proven fact that there are no safe levels of lead exposure. Lead is a heavy metal that is of no use to your body and causes more harm than good.
Compared to average adults, infants and young children are more susceptible to lead poisoning. Up to 20% of the total lead exposure in children is traced back to the lead present in their drinking water. Lead poisoning in a child can be disastrous. The effects include but are not limited to major neurological disorder, conversions, hearing loss, growth inhibition and learning disabilities. Lead poisoning is not easily diagnosed as the early symptoms are common to flu and other such less threatening infections. With time, lead tends to be stored in the major organs like brain and kidneys and can cause organ failure.
Hot water is also found to have higher levels than cold water and hence it is advised to use cold water in preparing baby formulas, drinking, cooking and other such direct ingestion preparations as infants and young children are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead. Pregnant women and their developing fetus are also at a very high risk and can cause serious effects like reduced growth of the fetus and premature birth.
Efforts should be made to reduce lead exposure for all sources, including drinking water, considering that no threshold level of exposure exists for the neurodevelopmental effects of lead in children.
A great way to free water from major contaminants like Chlorine and Trihalomethanes, and heavy metals including Lead and Nickel is to install a high quality water filter. It is important to check that the water filtration system accurately eliminates all the heavy metals that are highly toxic for the health. Awesome water filters are proven to remove these toxic heavy metals and give you pure, healthy water without all the nastiness of heavy metals. Now, we do need trace minerals like Iron, Zinc, Magnesium and Iodine that contribute positively. Awesome water from awesome water filters has these ‘good’ trace minerals replenished so that your water is pure and nourishing.
Resources:
Health warning concerning Lead poisoning - 7 News
Water Research - Lead in drinking water
Epa - Basic information about Lead in Drinking Water
Lead poisoning in Children and in Adults