Features

Advice about getting the lead out

by Pamela Manning

We have a lead problem. We cannot possibly help knowing that there is lead all around us if we have picked up a newspaper or turned on the radio or the television since January. At school, at home, in the places we spend our days, there is lead.

We can–and should–have our drinking water and our blood and our children's blood tested to discover their levels of lead.

We can securely tape drinking fountains and faucets at schools, and/or run them from 10 seconds to 15 minutes at variably recommended intervals throughout the day.

We can stockpile bottled water from the bountiful and omnipresent displays that have materialized at every retail outlet on every block.

We can install strange-looking filtration devices on our taps.

We can hope that lead water pipes were not mistakenly recorded as being made of something safer, as happened in the District.

The thing is, many of us have already been exposed, and for who knows how long. The time for primary prevention seems to have passed–although the efforts of our county government and health workers to address current and future lead exposures are to be commended.

But what should we do right now?

It's time to talk about what we can realistically do about our lead situations, how our bodies react to lead exposure, and what we can do to protect ourselves from this day forward.

Whose health is most at risk when they ingest lead?

Children under age six, for several reasons. Younger children absorb more from the food and water they ingest than do adults. Kids also like to put things in their mouths–toys, keys, dirt, and the small hands that have been in contact with these items — which is where a great deal of the lead in their blood originates. Pregnant and breast-feeding women are at high risk as well, since unborn babies and nursing infants are under the age of age six.

Lead is most dangerous to infants and children because of its effects on their developing brains. Chronic lead poisoning involves exposure to small amounts of lead over long periods of time, which can result in problems with both physical and mental development. Acute lead poisoning is rare, occurring when large amounts of lead are taken into the body in a short period of time. This can bring convulsions, coma, or death.

How do the health effects of lead differ in adults?

Adults may experience high blood pressure, kidney and digestive problems, memory loss, nerve disorders, reproductive problems, or muscle and joint pain, as well as the symptoms of acute lead poisoning described above.

What are "acceptable lead levels" in the water?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that lead concentrations of up to 20 parts per billion (ppb) are okay for drinking water. To put this in everyday terms, 20 ppb would represent 20 cents out of ten million dollars.

What about "acceptable" levels of lead in our blood?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have established 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood as the threshold for safe lead levels in children and pregnant women. Since adults are not tested regularly for blood lead levels, it is harder to say exactly where the danger begins. However, Healthy People 2010 states reducing the percentage of adults with blood lead levels of 25 mcg/dL or greater as one of our nation's public health improvement goals.

Micrograms per Deciliter?

The weight of lead is measured in micrograms; a packet of sugar substitute weighs about one million micrograms, which equals one gram. One pound contains 454 grams.

Blood volume is measured in deciliters. It takes ten deciliters to make one liter; a two-liter bottle of soda contains 20 deciliters of liquid.

Is drinking water the only culprit in elevating blood lead levels?

No. The EPA estimates that only 10-20 percent of human exposure to lead may come from drinking water. The main sources of lead exposure are lead paint and soil, which can be ingested in chips and inhaled as lead dust, respectively. Soil can become and remain contaminated by lead paint chips or old emissions from leaded gas, which hang around until removed because lead does not break down naturally.

What is the purpose of "flushing" water?

The longer water has been sitting in contaminated pipes, the more lead it may contain. Flushing rids pipes of this water. The EPA advises that flushing is one of the most important ways to protect your family because most of the lead in our water comes from the pipes in our homes, not from the local water supply.

What is the proper flushing procedure?

At home, flush taps that have not been used for six hours or more by running cold water for one minute before using for drinking or cooking. School officials are reportedly handling flushing of water in our schools by running working spouts for 15 minutes every four hours.

What devices are best for filtering tap water?

The EPA does not endorse specific home water treatment devices, but independent testing organizations such as NSF International do. Check the product packaging for such certification before purchasing.

How do we know there isn't lead in bottled water?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water. When purchasing it, check that the water has been certified by NSF International or the International Bottled Water Association.

How can we protect ourselves at home?

In a perfect world, we'd all have the resources to immediately and thoroughly identify any sources of lead in our homes. We'd replace all the plumbing and fixtures that could be leaking lead into our water. We'd also hire a special service to come in and remove all the lead paint from our homes, since it takes proper training and equipment to do so safely - as in, without poisoning ourselves or others in the process. But if the world were perfect, you wouldn't be reading this article. Here are some tips from the EPA and Health A to Z (www.healthAtoZ.com) for reducing and coping with lead exposure:

• Have your family's blood tested for lead. Unacceptable blood lead levels can be detected long before symptoms appear, and early diagnosis and preventive action can lessen the consequences of lead poisoning. The CDC recommends testing of all children at 12 and 24 months of age, and as early as 6 months of age for children at elevated risk for lead exposure (those living or spending time in homes built before 1978, or who have a family member or playmate that has been diagnosed with lead poisoning). Your doctor or local health clinic can provide this testing.

• Have your water tested for lead by an approved facility. For a list of laboratories certified to analyze lead in drinking water, call the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at 410-767-5074.

• Flush taps as described above.

• Use only cold water from the tap for drinking and cooking–if you need hot water for these purposes, heat it using the stove or microwave after it comes out of the faucet. ** Please note: boiling water will not remove lead.

• Once taps have been flushed–especially after high water use activities such as clothes washing and bathing — draw water into clean containers and store it in the refrigerator.

• Do not use unfiltered tap water to prepare baby formula or concentrated juices.

• Do not store food in open cans, especially if they are imported cans, which may have lead solder.

• Do not serve or store food in old or decorative pottery or ceramics, particularly if they are not made in the United States.

• Keep children's play areas as clean and dust free as you can–while multi-purpose cleaners will not remove lead, dishwasher detergents are recommended because they contain high amounts of phosphate. A solution of powdered dishwasher detergent dissolved in warm water can be easily made and used for cleaning.

• Wash pacifiers, toys, and hands regularly.

• Make sure your children get enough iron, calcium, zinc, and protein, which reduce lead absorption by their bodies.

• If you work with lead, as do some people in construction or painting, change clothes before going home and wash these clothes separately to avoid bringing lead home on your hands and clothing.

• Soil around homes and buildings may be contaminated with lead from exterior lead paint — wipe your feet or remove your shoes to avoid tracking in lead from the soil.

• If your hobbies include things such as pottery glazing, furniture refinishing or shooting at indoor firing ranges, be aware that these activities may put you and your family at risk for lead poisoning. Get informed, change your habits, or change your clothes before going home.