Should You Be Concerned About Lead
In Your Drinking Water?
The Flint Michigan Drinking Water Contamination Problem
You’ve probably heard the biggest public health scandal in decades has exploded in Flint, Michigan where kids (and adults) are suffering from severe lead poisoning. The cause of this problem is relatively corrosive water from the Flint water treatment plant leaching lead from the water transmission pipes leading to the water taps in residents’ homes.
Health Effects of Lead Exposure
The press has been focusing on what lead can do to kids. High blood lead levels in children can cause consequences which may be irreversible including learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and mental retardation.
The press has been focusing on what lead can do to kids. High blood lead levels in children can cause consequences, which may be irreversible, including learning disabilities, behavioral problems and mental retardation.
Lead exposure in older folks can lead to all sorts of severe setbacks too. There's the memory loss and cognitive decline...in some cases so severe that it looks and acts like dementia. It mimics the condition so well that docs never even consider that it might be something else.
Lead exposure also can cause joint and muscle pain. It can wreck your gut...ruin your mood...and raise your blood pressure. And since these are all common problems in seniors, your doc will just shrug them off and tell you that you're just getting older.
The press has been focusing on what lead can do to kids. High blood lead levels in children can cause consequences, which may be irreversible, including learning disabilities, behavioral problems and mental retardation.
Lead exposure in older folks can lead to all sorts of severe setbacks too. There's the memory loss and cognitive decline...in some cases so severe that it looks and acts like dementia. It mimics the condition so well that docs never even consider that it might be something else.
Lead exposure also can cause joint and muscle pain. It can wreck your gut...ruin your mood...and raise your blood pressure. And since these are all common problems in seniors, your doc will just shrug them off and tell you that you're just getting older.
The Lead Contamination Problem May Be Affecting You As Well
Lead exposure in Flint is at least now recognized and authorities will eventually solve the problem, although perhaps at a tremendous cost. But it’s very likely elevated lead levels are occurring to some degree in many other drinking water supplies around the country.
The water coming from the tap in your home may contain dangerous levels of lead if lead is leaching from the lead solder plumbing fittings in your home or if the water transmission pipes coming from your community’s water treatment plant contain lead. Any testing done by your water supply agency for lead and other contaminants is done only when water leaves your treatment plant. But that doesn’t tell you the lead concentrations in the drinking water at the tap in your home .
The water coming from the tap in your home may contain dangerous levels of lead if lead is leaching from the lead solder plumbing fittings in your home or if the water transmission pipes coming from your community’s water treatment plant contain lead. Any testing done by your water supply agency for lead and other contaminants is done only when water leaves your treatment plant. But that doesn’t tell you the lead concentrations in the drinking water at the tap in your home .
What are your alternatives?
You can have the water in your tested for lead levels. For about $50, you can sample your water and send it to a testing laboratory for analysis (see lead testing services here and here).
You can install a simple counter-top or under-counter water filter designed to remove lead and most other water contaminants. For about $100, or a little more, you can remove 98-99% of the lead in your water. These filter systems also will remove nearly all of the pathogenic organisms, chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, volatile organic chemicals, and other harmful contaminants that might be in your water.
You can install a simple counter-top or under-counter water filter designed to remove lead and most other water contaminants. For about $100, or a little more, you can remove 98-99% of the lead in your water. These filter systems also will remove nearly all of the pathogenic organisms, chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, volatile organic chemicals, and other harmful contaminants that might be in your water.
