3 ms·

Even with biofilm-protected lead pipes, you still need to flush the system, by letting the water run for a minute or three, before you drink it.

• refurb 3y ago
  Lead pacification results in a layer of insoluble material on the interior surface of the pipe so that the drinking water doesn't contact lead. It's typically done at the source - at the drinking water plant. It can result in undetectable levels of lead in the water, despite the pipes being made of lead. This summarizes the chemistry quite nicely: https://www.acs.org/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/2016-2017/december-2016/flint-water-crisis.html https://www.acs.org/education/resources/highschool/chemmatte... There is no need to "flush" the water, because it doesn't contain any lead.
  • mjh2539 3y ago
    This is part of the reason why engineers in antiquity always explicitly favored hard water when choosing the headwaters to route aqueducts from.
  • sct202 3y ago
    It is probably wise to flush though as unless you have tested recently you have no idea if the lead protection is working. My own home (70 years old) recently failed lead tests (3 samples with ranges 14-45 μg/L) that we had to request from the city. Otherwise we would have had no idea.
    • refurb 3y ago
      I agree that testing is key if there is a risk of lead exposure.