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Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from Lead Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
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InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
How lead enters the water supply: lead testing & repair advice. Depending on the duration and extent of lead-water contact, lead can enter the water supply if lead is present in supply piping or fixtures. Common sources
of lead in water supply piping include older lead-bearing solder used on copper pipes, possible lead content in brass piping or fixtures, lead water
supply piping (rare), and lead water supply entry main between a building and the public water main in the street (common in some areas).
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Action Level for Lead in Water - allowable lead limits
Readers of this article should see our review of a Home Test Kit for Lead in on building surfaces located at LEAD TEST KIT for HOME USE. The same company offers a lead-in-water test, as do local health departments and private water testing labs in most cities. Also see Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: Testing & Correction - Advice.
Health hazards from lead content in water
An example of lead water supply piping at the building water main supply pipe is shown in our photo at left. Just how much lead this pipe contributes to the building water supply depends on several variables that we discuss along with additional photos of lead water supply (and drain) piping at LEAD PIPES in BUILDINGS.
Recently there was also a flurry of concern about lead contributed by brass in private well pumps. However the testing methods used for this latter topic misrepresented an exaggerated and frankly dubious risk. Finally, it is
possible for lead to be found in private well water if lead contaminants have entered the local aquifer.
New York State Department of Health has set an action level of 0.015 mg/L of
lead in a sample of water drawn from a tap used for drinking water after a
6-hour period of no water use.
Most local building codes do not require removal of lead, for example, the City of Poughkeepsie Building Codes do not require removal of residential lead supply lines (house to street).
However eventually (usually after 40-60
years) these lines corrode, leak, and have to be replaced. Replacing the main supply from street to the water meter, when required, could involve significant expense.
People with concerns for the amount of lead in water should consult the local health department and should have their water tested for lead. Typical lab fees are $20. to $25. per sample plus the cost of hiring an independent consultant to collect and handle the water sample if you don't do it yourself. Home test kits for lead cost around $10.00. See LEAD TEST KIT for HOME USE.
Even if you are not concerned with testing for lead in water it would be wise to reduce possible lead intake by flushing any lead-containing piping before drinking such water. In addition, lead-in-water removal equipment is available from water treatment companies.
List of Common Remedies for Lead in Drinking Water
- Private drinking water well water treatment systems can be installed to remove lead in drinking water
- Replace lead supply piping running through the building
- Replace lead entry main water supply piping - we recommend deferring this costly repair until the water pipe needs replacement due to wear, damage, or leaks. In the interim a thorough flush-out of the supply piping before taking drinking water for consumption will normally reduce the lead level in drinking water to extremely low levels, possibly below the limits of detection.
We discuss this effect at LEAD CONTAMINATION in WATER, HOW to TEST. (A water sample taken after running the water for several minutes (depending on length of piping in the house from street to fixture) is sampling the quality of water provided by the municipality. Some city plumbing officials have expressed the opinion that lead oxide build-up in pipes insulates against significant lead levels in water actively running through such lines.)
- Install point of use small water purification systems such as at the building kitchen
- Other lead hazards, such as lead paint, are discussed at LEAD CONTAMINATION HAZARDS in the HOME
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the action level for lead in water
Question: How accurate is First Draw Advice for Testing Water for Lead Levels
My town is conducting a lead in water survey and wants me to take the first draw water out of one of our faucets when we get up in the morning. Is this the most accurate way to determine our family's exposure to lead in drinking water? - Anon. 1/13/2012
Reply:
Watch out: if there is lead exposed to water passing through a water system then the results of a test of water for lead levels can vary drastically depending on many variables. However you should follow the water testing protocol recommended by your local health department or municipal authority. Otherwise your test results cannot be joined in any study of buildings or homes in your community.
However with a bit of research one can also construct a best case (minimum level of lead likely to be detected in water) and a worst case (likely to detect highest level of lead in drinking water). You can conduct those additional lead tests in order to get an idea of the bounds of possible lead exposure from drinking water in your building. Keep in mind that even these cases may vary over time as water temperatures and water chemistry will vary even if the lead exposure remains constant.
Lead-in-Water Testing Protocol for Best & Worst Case Scenarios
OPINION-DF: based on direct participation in a lead in water test program:
This s anecdotal report explains the difficulty of giving lead-in-water water test protocols to homeowners.
Interestingly I have actually done some tests on the effects on measurable lead levels of water line flushing, as I participated in a
municipal water supply lead testing program a while back in 1995.
Some testing protocol instructions advise the homeowner to collect first-draw water samples after a night of no water running. That can be a mistake and can give misleading results as these four cases explain:
- If the water supply pipes immediately adjacent to the sink were made of lead or included copper sweat fittings that used high-lead solder, that might be the worst case or highest lead level in water for that building. But it might not.
- If the in-building water supply pipes are not lead (which is more often the case in most buildings in North America) and if nevertheless there is a lead entry main at the home (the water pipe between the street water main and the building water piping), then to check for the "worst case" or highest lead level we took the first COLD draw - which was water that rested in the building's individual entry main water pipe overnight.
- If the municipality's own water mains include lead piping then those pipes too provide a source of lead in water and will confound water testing protocols.
- If the building water supply is from a private well and the water source itself is high in lead, that will confound attempts to trace lead levels to specific water piping - a condition that can be verified by direct sampling of the well water in different seasons.
After that was flushed for a time sufficient to know I had water from the (non lead) main in the street I took a second sample.
- The first draw water test sample was very low in lead (this was water in galvanized iron pipes or in other homes copper. On a few occasions one can pick up lead from internal faucet parts but that's getting pretty rare).
- The first cold draw water sample was very high in lead (water that sat in the entry main overnight)
- The well-flushed cold draw water sample was below any action level for lead content.
When I sent in my high-lead sample to the city, and before I had explained my sampling protocol, the city rep found the results remarkable as they were inconsistent with similar homes on the same street.
We know you did something ... but we can't figure out what. We want to do the lead test again after we flush the water mains at your street's hydrant.
In response to our water sample's very high lead level, the city wanted to do the test over again with a new protocol. The rep proposed to open a hydrant on the street, flush the water mains, then have me flush the house plumbing then collect a sample of water to test for lead level - what I call a "best case or lowest risk" sample. Their object was to force the building to pass the test (perhaps avoiding an expensive change to the city water chemistry managing equipment in order to reduce lead leaching rates.)
My reply was
OK, Fine. But you'll have to promise that every morning before anyone in the city gets up to brush their teeth or draw a glass of water you are going to flush out every water main and building water supply piping system in the city.
which was the end of that.
It is apparent that one cannot give a single quantitative guide on water flushing as where lead pipes are in the system, pipe length, pipe diameter, water aggressivity, water flow rates, and similar factors all introduce so many variables. That's what underlies my OPINION that just telling people to flush out their water lines is actually dangerous. In the worst case someone will feed their baby the first COLD draw from a lead entry main.
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Questions & answers or comments about how to test for & correct lead contamination of drinking water.
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- [1] Drinking Water from Household Wells - PDF, U.S. EPA, Original source last retrieved 2/13/2013, original source: http://www.epa.gov/privatewells/pdfs/household_wells.pdf
- [1a] Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), U.S. EPA, web search 11/7/2010, original source: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/index.cfm
- [1b] Understanding the Safe Drinking Water Act, U.S. EPA, EPA 816-F-04-030 June 2004, web search 11/7/2010, original source: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/sdwa/upload/
2009_08_28_sdwa_fs_30ann_sdwa_web.pdf
- [1c] Drinking Water Standards & Health Effects, U.S. EPA, web search 11/7/2010, original source:
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/sdwa/upload/
2009_08_28_sdwa_fs_30ann_standards_web.pdf
- [1d] Drinking Water Treatment, U.S. EPA, web search 11/7/2010, original source:
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/sdwa/upload/
2009_08_28_sdwa_fs_30ann_treatment_web.pdf [Warning: this file is difficult or impossible to download from the EPA website - 11/2010]
- [1e] Text of the U.S Safe Drinking Water Act: 42 USC CHAPTER 6A - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE [large PDF file] 02/01/2010 web search 11/7/2010, original source: http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/42C6A.txt
- [1f] Text of the U.S Safe Drinking Water Act: 42 USC CHAPTER 6A - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE [large text file - 15MB] 02/01/2010 (large text file), web search 11/7/2010, original source: http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/42C6A.txt
- [1g] US CPSC Document #426 "How to Protect Your Family from Lead in the Home" with additional information and annotations
- [1h] "Displaced Gypsies at Risk from Lead in Kosovo Camps," Nicholas Wood, New York Times, 5 February 2006 p5.
- [1i] "Nigeria: Lead Poisoning Spreads", Reuters, The New York Times, 8 June 2010 p. A6 - web search 06/08/2010
- [1j] "Higher Levels of Lead Seen in City Tap WaterTh", Mireya Navarro, The New York Times, 4 Nov 20120.
 Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. The firm provides professional home inspection services & home inspection education & publications. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The Home Reference Book & illustrations from The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop Associates' provides:
- Commercial Building Inspection Courses - protocol ASTM Standard E 2018-08 for Property Condition Assessments
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Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on these courses: Enter INSPECTAHITP in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference Book, a reference & inspection report product for building owners & inspectors.
Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
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Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter inspectaehrb in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors.
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- The Horizon Software System manages business operations,scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones.
- [3] US CPSC Document #426 "How to Protect Your Family from Lead in the Home" with additional information and annotations
- [4] "Standard Operating Procedure for Determining Lead (Pb) and Its Availability in Children's Metal Jewelery", US CPSC, 2/3/2005
- [5] "Displaced Gypsies at Risk from Lead in Kosovo Camps," Nicholas Wood, New York Times, 5 February 2006 p5.
- [6] Lead in Drinking Water: Advice
- [7] Tests for Lead Contamination in Water
- [8] Lead in Drinking Water - Testing Problems/Advice
- [9] How to Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home U.S. CPSC publication with additional links and resource references
- [10] Lead Hazards in buildings, Dust, Paint, Water: General Advice, Testing Procedures, Illnesses with additional links and resource references for Lead Hazards
- [11] Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from Lead Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
- [12] Extreme Lead Poisoning Symptoms Suggested by Feb 2006 NY Times Article on Kosovo Roma Camps
- [13] "Dally No Longer, Get the Lead Out," Jane Brody, The New York Times," 17 January 2006 p. F6. This is a good article for summarizing the lead issue.
- [14] SOP for Determining Lead (Pb) and And Its Availability in Children's Jewelry
- [15] Toy Industry Policy on Lead in Toys, International Council of Toy Industries, October 8, 1997
"The voluntary standard established in the United States under ASTM F-963 and the European standard under EN-71 for soluble lead in toys (lead which may migrate from the toy and be ingested by the child) is 90 parts-per-million. At that level, any intentional use of lead in paints or other surface coatings containing lead would immediately put the toy over the permitted limit."
"Under federal law, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces a standard for total lead of 600 ppm. Recently, the CPSC refused to lower the lead limit in paint and other similar surface coating materials to 100 ppm after finding that most paints sold in the United States were already at or below that level and, therefore, these materials did not present an unreasonable risk of injury warranting further government regulation."
- [16] Environmental Hazard Testing, Effects, Remedies, Prevention our main Enviro-Haz Web Page
- [17] Appropriate Methods for Reducing Lead-Paint Hazards in Historic Housing, Sharon C. Park, AIA, and Douglas C. Hicks, U.S. National Park Service.
- [18] "Report on the National Survey of Lead-Based Paint in Housing," - Executive Summary - U.S. EPA, April, 1995 (EPA 747-R-95-003). An Executive Summary of this report is provided in this web page below.
The Full report is at this (large) pdf file.
- [19] Using X-ray fluorescence for analysis of lead in paint and applicability of other agencies lead levels OSHA, 03/01/1999 - this is an important document because OSHA does not accept XRF for analysis of lead exposure in the workplace.
"The lead-in-construction standard was intended to apply to any detectable concentration of lead in paint, as even small concentrations of lead can result in unacceptable employee exposures depending upon on the method of removal and other workplace conditions. Since these conditions can vary greatly, the lead-in-construction standard was written to require exposure monitoring or the use of historical or objective data to ensure that employee exposures do not exceed the action level. Historical data may be applied to all construction tasks involving lead. Objective data was intended to apply to all tasks other than those listed under paragraph (d)(2) of the standard.
["OSHA does not consider X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to be an acceptable method of analysis. As stated in your letter, XRF analyzers are generally considered accurate when concentrations of lead in paint exceed 1 mg/cm�. For the purposes of occupational health, these levels are considered substantial and may easily present an exposure hazard. Without having conducted monitoring, or without the benefit of historical or objective data, the employer has no assurance of the employee's exposure.
"
"Other regulatory agencies, such as Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) have designated levels of lead in paint below which they consider the paint to be non-lead containing. The missions of these agencies differ from OSHA's, and for that reason, OSHA cannot recognize these levels as safe under workplace situations"
We recommend reviewing this position letter from OSHA. -- DF
- [20] How to Identify Lead Paint Hazards, Maryland Department of the Environment, outlines
when a lead inspection is necessary, who can perform a lead inspection, and the types of analysis used for lead inspections and testing. Maryland
DOE includes suggestions for do-it-yourself lead paint testing using paint chips or scrapings. If you follow this approach be sure your
samples accurately represent conditions at the whole building, inside and out -- DF.
- [21] Sample XRF Lead Survey Report, "Lead Paint Inspection and Visual
Assessment Single Family Dwelling, Murdock & Assoc., Mattoon, IL.
- [22] Dutchess County New York, Health Department: an original source whose contents were paraphrased, adapted, and expanded for this article include public information document provided by the City of Poughkeepsie New York (Dutchess County) to residents served by city water supply system, December 1995.
- [23] M.D.T., private correspondence, 2/13/2013 [on file]. M.D.T. informs us that he is an EPA employee and among comments included this remark for which we express thanks, though the following does not reflect the EPA's current action level for lead hazards in water: :
Lead is neuro-toxic even in very low doses. It causes permanent (irreversible) damage to children’s brain cells.
- [23] Steven G. Gilbert & Bernard Weiss, "A rationale for lowering the blood lead action level from 10 to 2 μg/dL", NeuroToxicology, Volume 27, Issue 5, September 2006, Pages 693–701, Environment and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 22nd International Neurotoxicology Conference
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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
- The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
- Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals.
- Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
- Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods.
- U.S. Army Field Manual 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml
The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries. The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM.
- When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
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