The Environmental Protection Agency has stated categorically, “Lead is the number-one environmental health threat to our children.” Years ago parents were shocked to learn that the paint used in their children’s rooms was actually poisonous because it was lead based. But even when that was outlawed, it didn’t eliminate the problem of lead poisoning.
Lead is one of the three most serious heavy metal contaminations we face. The other two are cadmium, and mercury. Of a lesser hazard are aluminum and beryllium. These heavy metals have no known biological function but can be detrimental to health, especially causing long range health issues. Lead can be ingested through car exhaust, cigarette smoke, some colored inks, cosmetics, glass production, hair dyes, lead-glazed earthenware, pottery, metal polish, and a host of other ways.
One major way of ingesting these poisons is through drinking water. Old houses might still have lead pipes. Though copper replaced lead a long time ago, not all houses have been upgraded. Old well casings and storage tanks might also contain lead. City water is fed by wells or rivers and they inevitably contain some level of lead. The author checked his own city water system and found the level of lead in the water he receives is 2.5 parts per billion. Levels as high as 12 ppb are still within the limits. However, the last lead test on the water was done two years before the report was issued.
An examination of 65 of the 3,000 largest utilities found that cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Providence, R.I., and Portland, Maine, are “manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting millions of Americans at risk,” The Washington Post reported. More than 250 major cities currently exceed the EPA’s lead standards, and many of them have been deceptive, or even fraudulent, in their reporting of the problems.
Though lead has no advantage to the body, it does cause serious problems. “Each year in the U.S., lead in drinking water contributes to 480,000 cases of learning disorders in children and 560,000 cases of hypertension in adult males.” The truth is, we cannot be rid of the problem of ingesting lead entirely. However, we can do as much as possible to minimize its presence.
Here is an edited list of some of the negative impact of lead on the human body: depression, dyslexia, emotional instability, encephalitis, epilepsy, fatigue, gout, hallucinations, headaches, hostility, hyperactivity, hypertension, hypothyroid, impotence, immune suppression, decreased IQ, indigestion, infertility, insomnia, irritability, joint pain, kidney disorders, learning disability, liver dysfunction, loss of will, memory loss (long term), menstrual problems, mood swings, muscle aches, muscle weakness, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis.
The list drones on and on. In summary, lead’s leading areas of concern are kidney problems and nervous system damage. As noted above, these are not the only problems but they are certainly problem enough.
What can we do about this problem? First, check your house for any lead pipes that carry water and replace them immediately. Also, be sure if your house is old, that no lead paint is still present. This should have been checked before you bought it. Third, get a good activated charcoal water filter like the Black Berkey or their shower filter. These claim to remove 95% of the lead found in the water. Think of the peace of mind you will experience when you know you are providing for yourself and your family safe drinking water!