Filtration as a fix In Canada, lead has historically been used in the plumbing and waterworks industry. Despite its usefulness, lead has been proven to create very serious health problems for people (particularly children and pregnant women) who ingest it. Despite the availability of drinking fountains, water coolers and water bottle filling stations with specially-designed filters that are certified to meet or exceed NSF/ ANSI Standard 53 to remove lead from the water source itself, only a small percentage of schools and institutions actually have these types of units installed.
here is a growing concern in Canada today about how much lead is in the water we consume. For decades, many have assumed that lead in water was a thing of the past. After all, most cities have municipal water systems that test, monitor, and remove such things, right? A Google search of “Lead in drinking water in schools” produces a long list of 2016 news stories from across Canada identifying areas where lead has been identified in the drinking water supply. Additionally, news coverage of the public disaster in Flint, Michigan has brought a heightened awareness of the harm that lead can cause. For schools and other large public facilities, where drinking fountains, water coolers, and bottle filling stations are commonly used, one of the questions raised with this increased awareness is, “are point-of-use filtration products an effective method to remove lead that has leached into drinking water from the plumbing supply system?” To answer this question, we need to look many different factors.
What’s so bad about lead? Lead has been widely used to transport water for many centuries. Such use was 34
Ops Talk • Fall 2017
so common that the word “plumbing”
According to the Canadian Water Qual-
derives from plumbum, the Latin word
ity Association, it was almost four de-
for lead.
cades ago when industry learned that
In Canada, lead has historically been used in the plumbing and waterworks industry. Despite its usefulness, lead has been proven to create very serious health problems for people (particularly children and pregnant women) who ingest it. Lead is toxic – even at low levels, continuous exposure causes a variety of health problems, including permanent nervous system, brain, and kidney damage, hyperactivity and other behaviour and learning issues, memory problems, severe headaches, high blood pressure, hearing
lead could dissolve into the water supply from the pipes and fittings, it was decided then to limit the amount of lead used in alloys and materials in the water sector. Today that limit is 0.25 per cent, as defined by the NSF 372 Standard.
How much lead is too much lead? Scientists and toxicologists would correctly state that no amount of lead consumed is good for the human body. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defined a reference level of five micrograms per
problems, impaired growth, reproductive
deciliter (µg/dL) to identify children with
problems, digestive problems, and muscle
elevated blood lead levels. These chil-
and joint pain. In some instances, expo-
dren are exposed to more lead than most
sure to extreme lead levels has even re-
children.
sulted in death.
The U.S.-based Environmental Protec-
Lead is more easily absorbed by sensi-
tion Agency (EPA) has established a lead
tive tissue such as that found in growing
“action level” for public water systems of
bodies, and the effects are cumulative,
15 parts per billion. If more than 10 per
irreversible, can exacerbate other health
cent of water sampled, system-wide, hits
problems and can last a lifetime. For these
this level, then corrosion control treat-
reasons, vulnerable populations such as
ment may be necessary. The level is dif-
babies, infants, young children, seniors,
ferent for schools. If a school finds that
people with existing health issues, and
their lead level exceeds 20 ppb coming
pregnant and/or nursing mothers should
from a particular outlet at first draw, the
avoid ingesting lead at all costs.
outlet should be taken out of service.
