3 ms·

yet as late as the 19th century lead was in make up

moooo99 1y ago
The time it takes us from finding out something is dangerous to finally doing something about it is astonishingly long. Lead, Asbestos, CFCs, PFAS, etc
- simplify 1y ago
  Yes. Humans in general are very bad at dealing with delayed consequences.
  - LargeWu 1y ago
    Typically because there are entrenched financial interests incentivized not to change.
    - bell-cot 1y ago
      And because our brains evolved in very different environments - where serious hidden delayed consequences were very rare, and life was short & cheap.
- EasyMark 1y ago
  And we have a President currently trying to bring back clean, beautiful asbestos (it's still used in a few places actually). A wonder material, good for protecting against hot stuff.
- tessierashpool 1y ago
  The EPA is currently reviewing its ban on asbestos.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
cjrp 1y ago
It's not uncommon for the pipe supplying mains water to (older) houses in the UK to still be lead.
- graemep 1y ago
  Its not really common either. much as been replaced. In areas where it is common the pipes are often old enough that the lead is covered with limescale sealing it off from the water (lead pipes would now be many decades old), and I have read that water supplies in some areas have additives to seal off lead too. You can also have your supply tested (free AFAIK).
- bamboozled 1y ago
  Does lead leach into the water like plastic pipes do ?
  - WillAdams 1y ago
    Yes, depending on alkalinity and so forth --- see Flint, Michigan in the news a while back, or on-going efforts to remove solder containing lead from the plumbing aisle.
    - skeezyboy 1y ago
      [dead]
  - dtech 1y ago
    Yes, the only reason we are ok with some old lead pipes left is because they're coated in scale build up. As long as that's not disturbed it's not dangerous anymore.
  - peanutz454 1y ago
    Old lead pipes had hard untreated water flowing through them. The lead pipes would internally (normally) be coated with salts, and the lead did not (normally) leach into water. But soft water does not have calcium or magnesium in high enough quantities. Also, even with hard water, pressure changes could loosen the scale deposits. Microplastic risk is not anywhere close to lead, we should not even be discussing these two things in the same paragraph. Lead is bad because it mimics calcium and iron in our body, binding to proteins, sneaking into bones, causes anemia, disrupts brain function... Plastic is inert, it is made of long chains of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. These long chains do not break down easily. Microplastic, while it does not pass through the body, and can accumulate in organs, its impact is still under study. We aren't ingesting high doses. BUT, bad pipes may leach other stuff. Some additives in certain plastics seem to mimic hormones and potentially disrupt them. Some additives are carcinogenic. (but only in high doses I guess). Certified modern pipes are safer.

The time it takes us from finding out something is dangerous to finally doing something about it is astonishingly long. Lead, Asbestos, CFCs, PFAS, etc

simplify 1y ago
Yes. Humans in general are very bad at dealing with delayed consequences.
- LargeWu 1y ago
  Typically because there are entrenched financial interests incentivized not to change.
  - bell-cot 1y ago
    And because our brains evolved in very different environments - where serious hidden delayed consequences were very rare, and life was short & cheap.
EasyMark 1y ago
And we have a President currently trying to bring back clean, beautiful asbestos (it's still used in a few places actually). A wonder material, good for protecting against hot stuff.
tessierashpool 1y ago
The EPA is currently reviewing its ban on asbestos.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

cjrp 1y ago

It's not uncommon for the pipe supplying mains water to (older) houses in the UK to still be lead.

graemep 1y ago
Its not really common either. much as been replaced. In areas where it is common the pipes are often old enough that the lead is covered with limescale sealing it off from the water (lead pipes would now be many decades old), and I have read that water supplies in some areas have additives to seal off lead too. You can also have your supply tested (free AFAIK).
bamboozled 1y ago
Does lead leach into the water like plastic pipes do ?
- WillAdams 1y ago
  Yes, depending on alkalinity and so forth --- see Flint, Michigan in the news a while back, or on-going efforts to remove solder containing lead from the plumbing aisle.
  - skeezyboy 1y ago
    [dead]
- dtech 1y ago
  Yes, the only reason we are ok with some old lead pipes left is because they're coated in scale build up. As long as that's not disturbed it's not dangerous anymore.
- peanutz454 1y ago
  Old lead pipes had hard untreated water flowing through them. The lead pipes would internally (normally) be coated with salts, and the lead did not (normally) leach into water. But soft water does not have calcium or magnesium in high enough quantities. Also, even with hard water, pressure changes could loosen the scale deposits. Microplastic risk is not anywhere close to lead, we should not even be discussing these two things in the same paragraph. Lead is bad because it mimics calcium and iron in our body, binding to proteins, sneaking into bones, causes anemia, disrupts brain function... Plastic is inert, it is made of long chains of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. These long chains do not break down easily. Microplastic, while it does not pass through the body, and can accumulate in organs, its impact is still under study. We aren't ingesting high doses. BUT, bad pipes may leach other stuff. Some additives in certain plastics seem to mimic hormones and potentially disrupt them. Some additives are carcinogenic. (but only in high doses I guess). Certified modern pipes are safer.