4 ms·

Lead is still everywhere, not just aviation fuel. About 35% of homes in the USA still have lead paint, which creates lead dust when doors and windows open/close

by _yb2s 4y ago

Lead is still everywhere, not just aviation fuel. About 35% of homes in the USA still have lead paint, which creates lead dust when doors and windows open/close, and lead in the soil where kids play outside. A large fraction of homes still have lead-soldered drinking water supply pipes. Lots of toys, food cans, and vinyl window blinds also still contain and expose kids to lead.

warent 4y ago
Do you have references to these claims? I'm not saying it's impossible but this shocking and much higher / more prevalent than I would've thought
- munk-a 4y ago
  HUD[1][2] is the source for the 35% of households figure. 1. https://www.gao.gov/blog/2018/06/20/lead-paint-in-housing https://www.gao.gov/blog/2018/06/20/lead-paint-in-housing 2. Here's a better source actually: https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/AHHS_REPORT.PDF https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/AHHS_REPORT.PDF
_Adam 4y ago
I measured the concentration of lead in the hot water from my kitchen faucet. My plumping is copper with lead solder, so I expected some but not too much. The result was 105 ppb. This is insane when you consider that Flint's level was 20 ppb during the crisis. The cold water should be zero, but I installed a lead filter to ensure this. Lead testing is pretty cheap and there are usually a lot of labs around big cities. Highly recommend water testing even if you don't think you have the risk factors.
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > Lead testing is pretty cheap and there are usually a lot of labs around big cities. Highly recommend water testing even if you don't think you have the risk factors. Could you tell me what you used to do the testing?
  - koboll 4y ago
    Very interested in this as well
  - nosianu 4y ago
    Here in Germany I tested twice. Once, I took one of several online providers who send you a test kit - I think it was some 20 Euros or something similar - and you follow the procedure they give you and send the test kit back. You get an email and a website with the result after a few days. This is just for your own information, you cannot use such results in court, for example. Another time I asked my local city water lab. They had no procedure for some random guy from the public, since those other companies exist and already make it convenient, but they still did not even try to send me away and the big lab boss himself handled my case, explaining the procedure and all, and taking the water samples back from me. Price was similarly little. By the way, that second time I tested a very commonly sold entry-level Italian portafilter machine, a Rancilio Silvia with a brass boiler that even today contains lead. Following the sampling procedure I had agreed upon with the lab boss as the correct one the lead values I got back significantly exceeded the limits. And about those limits, the medical limit is zero. That the official limit is higher is because our society is unable to get us to that desirable level. . By the way, a good chelator for lead is DMSA, which is produced very cheaply in China. Russians produce "Unithiol" (DMPS) which is best against mercury, and somewhat good against lead (and a lot of other stuff). I actually got Russian Unithiol even though DMPS also is produced here in Germany as "Dimaval". I never used EDTA derivatives for chelation, but I have many years of.. experience with DMSA and DMPS. See somewhere in my comment history. That is why I took lead a bit more seriously and why I tested my portafilter machines. I now have an Ascaso Steel Uno PID whhere the manufacturer took great care to eliminate anything that could be problematic in all components - plus, it's a really good portafilter machine :)
    - Terry_Roll 4y ago
      > This is just for your own information, you cannot use such results in court, for example. Whats the point of that then? If its accuracy is not good enough for court, have you just bought an experience? I always used to get a sore throat from being a passenger on long vehicle journeys when leaded petrol was around and I was informed some years later Pectin is good for pollutants like lead. Never heard or seen any studies that back up this claim though, but I still bought a few bottles and necked them to see what sort of effect they had. I think N Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) may be useful for moving metals around the body.
- Heston 4y ago
  Those levels are likely not coming from the lead solder but from the supply line to your house
  - kodah 4y ago
    At those levels there is no way that the supply line is using a coagulant.
- Melatonic 4y ago
  Shit. I live in a VERY old building (built in 1916). No idea what type of pipe they were using. I already do have a good lead filter on my kitchen faucet. Are you worried about exposure from things like showering and brushing your teeth?
  - derbOac 4y ago
    FWIW, we lived in a house built around 1912 and we're worried about it, but did lots of testing and things were fine. I think it depends a lot.
  - repiret 4y ago
    Lead soldered copper didn't become popular until the 1960's or 70's. Before that it would have been galvanized pipes threaded together.
    - coryrc 4y ago
      Maybe where you live, but here every 50s house has soldered copper.
      - repiret 4y ago
        For reference, what I said is based on my experience in California and Oregon. Where are you that you see lead soldered copper in 50s homes?
        willcipriano 4y ago
        My house had pex, fitted copper, soldered copper and galvanized from fixes over the years.
        coryrc 4y ago
        Seattle and Michigan: though, no guarantees they are lead soldered, I didn't check
- maxerickson 4y ago
  Running the water for a bit should flush the standing water in the pipes (which if the lead is coming from your pipes will reduce the lead). Has to be done regularly before consumption to matter of course.
- StillBored 4y ago
  Thats sorta crazy for just lead solder. City water? What is the ph? Cause most of the city systems run the ph slightly basic to assure the water isn't trying to etch the pipes, and that also keeps the lead from leaching. That was actually the problem in flint, they let the water system ph get to low and it started to leach out of the pipes which is why originally they denied there was a problem (testing the water at the source).
- throwawayboise 4y ago
  If it's just the hot water, it could be your water heater. I would not expect soldered copper pipe, even with leaded solder, to be leaching that much lead. The vast majority of the solder is not exposed to the water, it's just sealing the lap joint of the fittings.
DoreenMichele 4y ago
Yeah. We still have lead in homes, for example an estimated 85k households in Baltimore have lead exposure: https://www.reddit.com/r/left_urbanism/comments/uj8y70/an_estimated_85000_occupied_housing_units_in/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share https://www.reddit.com/r/left_urbanism/comments/uj8y70/an_es...

by _yb2s 4y ago

warent 4y ago

Do you have references to these claims? I'm not saying it's impossible but this shocking and much higher / more prevalent than I would've thought

munk-a 4y ago
HUD[1][2] is the source for the 35% of households figure. 1. https://www.gao.gov/blog/2018/06/20/lead-paint-in-housing https://www.gao.gov/blog/2018/06/20/lead-paint-in-housing 2. Here's a better source actually: https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/AHHS_REPORT.PDF https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/AHHS_REPORT.PDF

_Adam 4y ago

I measured the concentration of lead in the hot water from my kitchen faucet. My plumping is copper with lead solder, so I expected some but not too much. The result was 105 ppb. This is insane when you consider that Flint's level was 20 ppb during the crisis. The cold water should be zero, but I installed a lead filter to ensure this. Lead testing is pretty cheap and there are usually a lot of labs around big cities. Highly recommend water testing even if you don't think you have the risk factors.

tablespoon 4y ago
> Lead testing is pretty cheap and there are usually a lot of labs around big cities. Highly recommend water testing even if you don't think you have the risk factors. Could you tell me what you used to do the testing?
- koboll 4y ago
  Very interested in this as well
- nosianu 4y ago
  Here in Germany I tested twice. Once, I took one of several online providers who send you a test kit - I think it was some 20 Euros or something similar - and you follow the procedure they give you and send the test kit back. You get an email and a website with the result after a few days. This is just for your own information, you cannot use such results in court, for example. Another time I asked my local city water lab. They had no procedure for some random guy from the public, since those other companies exist and already make it convenient, but they still did not even try to send me away and the big lab boss himself handled my case, explaining the procedure and all, and taking the water samples back from me. Price was similarly little. By the way, that second time I tested a very commonly sold entry-level Italian portafilter machine, a Rancilio Silvia with a brass boiler that even today contains lead. Following the sampling procedure I had agreed upon with the lab boss as the correct one the lead values I got back significantly exceeded the limits. And about those limits, the medical limit is zero. That the official limit is higher is because our society is unable to get us to that desirable level. . By the way, a good chelator for lead is DMSA, which is produced very cheaply in China. Russians produce "Unithiol" (DMPS) which is best against mercury, and somewhat good against lead (and a lot of other stuff). I actually got Russian Unithiol even though DMPS also is produced here in Germany as "Dimaval". I never used EDTA derivatives for chelation, but I have many years of.. experience with DMSA and DMPS. See somewhere in my comment history. That is why I took lead a bit more seriously and why I tested my portafilter machines. I now have an Ascaso Steel Uno PID whhere the manufacturer took great care to eliminate anything that could be problematic in all components - plus, it's a really good portafilter machine :)
  - Terry_Roll 4y ago
    > This is just for your own information, you cannot use such results in court, for example. Whats the point of that then? If its accuracy is not good enough for court, have you just bought an experience? I always used to get a sore throat from being a passenger on long vehicle journeys when leaded petrol was around and I was informed some years later Pectin is good for pollutants like lead. Never heard or seen any studies that back up this claim though, but I still bought a few bottles and necked them to see what sort of effect they had. I think N Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) may be useful for moving metals around the body.
Heston 4y ago
Those levels are likely not coming from the lead solder but from the supply line to your house
- kodah 4y ago
  At those levels there is no way that the supply line is using a coagulant.
Melatonic 4y ago
Shit. I live in a VERY old building (built in 1916). No idea what type of pipe they were using. I already do have a good lead filter on my kitchen faucet. Are you worried about exposure from things like showering and brushing your teeth?
- derbOac 4y ago
  FWIW, we lived in a house built around 1912 and we're worried about it, but did lots of testing and things were fine. I think it depends a lot.
- repiret 4y ago
  Lead soldered copper didn't become popular until the 1960's or 70's. Before that it would have been galvanized pipes threaded together.
  - coryrc 4y ago
    Maybe where you live, but here every 50s house has soldered copper.
    - repiret 4y ago
      For reference, what I said is based on my experience in California and Oregon. Where are you that you see lead soldered copper in 50s homes?
      - willcipriano 4y ago
        My house had pex, fitted copper, soldered copper and galvanized from fixes over the years.
      - coryrc 4y ago
        Seattle and Michigan: though, no guarantees they are lead soldered, I didn't check
maxerickson 4y ago
Running the water for a bit should flush the standing water in the pipes (which if the lead is coming from your pipes will reduce the lead). Has to be done regularly before consumption to matter of course.
StillBored 4y ago
Thats sorta crazy for just lead solder. City water? What is the ph? Cause most of the city systems run the ph slightly basic to assure the water isn't trying to etch the pipes, and that also keeps the lead from leaching. That was actually the problem in flint, they let the water system ph get to low and it started to leach out of the pipes which is why originally they denied there was a problem (testing the water at the source).
throwawayboise 4y ago
If it's just the hot water, it could be your water heater. I would not expect soldered copper pipe, even with leaded solder, to be leaching that much lead. The vast majority of the solder is not exposed to the water, it's just sealing the lap joint of the fittings.

DoreenMichele 4y ago

Yeah. We still have lead in homes, for example an estimated 85k households in Baltimore have lead exposure: https://www.reddit.com/r/left_urbanism/comments/uj8y70/an_estimated_85000_occupied_housing_units_in/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share https://www.reddit.com/r/left_urbanism/comments/uj8y70/an_es...