Lead Can Leach from PVC Plumbing 5-28-08

Old Lead Pipes Aren't the Only Source of Tainted Drinking Water

Lead in drinking water has long been a concern because older pipes can slowly leach lead. That's why it's wise for those living in older homes to let the water run for a couple minutes each morning before taking a drink, so that any accumulated lead can flush out. It's why it's best to cook only with water from the cold tap, because the warm water can encourage more leaching.

Now, a new study suggests old pipes aren't the only source of lead in home drinking water.

PVC piping, now commonplace, may be more susceptible to leaching lead than other types of piping, particularly if those plumbing systems are installed using brass fixtures and pipe fittings, according to the Virginia Tech study, to be published next month in the American Chemical Society's Environmental Science & Technology. Plastic piping is cheaper than the most common alternative, copper.

The leaching comes about because public water systems use a chemical called chloramine to kill harmful bacteria in water, as an alternative to chlorine. A chemical chain reaction, however, makes chloramine produce ammonia, which corrodes brass in the fixtures. That causes the copper, zinc and lead in brass to leach into water.

The study compared various types of piping and found water that runs through polyvinyl chloride pipes produced the worst water quality.

Comment:

Most of us cannot afford to completely re-plumb our house, so if you ever have to replace a pipe use copper and tell the plumber to use lead free solder. DO not drink, cook with, bathe or shower in this water without proper filtration. Make sure any counter-top or other filtration system is NSF rated for lead! Again a water ionizer may be your best purchase in this situation. The water ionizer will not only clean any lead out of your cooking and drinking water but will help your body rid itself from any heavy metals.