There are numerous ways children and adults can be exposed to lead. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that “the greatest exposure to lead is swallowing or breathing in lead paint chips or dust.” EPA estimates that 10 to 20 percent of lead exposure in young children may come from drinking water. Infants raised on mixed formula can receive 40 to 60 percent of their exposure from drinking water.
Besides drinking water, exposure to lead can come from:
- lead-based paint,
- lead in the air from industrial emissions,
- lead in soil from past emissions by automobiles using leaded gas, together with paint chips and lead paint dust,
- lead byproducts brought home by industrial workers on their clothes and shoes, and
- lead in consumer products and food, such as some imported candies, medicines, dishes, toys, jewelry, and plastics.
How lead enters drinking water
There is no lead in the water leaving the treatment plant. The water mains that distribute water to each service connection are not made of lead.
Lead can enter drinking water when a chemical reaction occurs between the water and plumbing materials that contain lead. When water in a home or building is unused for several hours, lead can dissolve into the water from service line pipes, private plumbing pipes, solder, fixtures, faucets (brass) and fittings.
The amount of lead in your water, if any, depends on several factors, including:
- the types and amounts of minerals in the water,
- the water’s acidity or alkalinity,
- the amount of lead in pipes and plumbing,
- how long the water stays in the pipes,
- the presence of protective scales or coatings, and
- water temperature.
Lead service lines
- This is the pipe that brings water from the water main into your home. In some older homes, these could be lead.
- Service line ownership is shared by the utility and the property owner. The utility owns the portion from the main to the meter, including the meter. The homeowner is responsible for portion from the meter to the home, as well as all the plumbing in the home.
Lead plumbing
- The pipe material used in some older homes may be lead. Lead was banned from use in plumbing materials in 1988.
Lead solder
- This is the material used to connect household pipes to each other and to make repairs on metal pipes. Lead solder was used until 1987.
Brass plumbing fixtures
- There is brass in almost all faucets, valves and fittings used in household plumbing. Until 2014, these materials could contain up to 8 percent lead and still be classified as “lead-free.” Now the maximum amount of lead allowed in brass plumbing materials is 0.25 percent.
Galvanized pipes
- Galvanized pipes do not contain lead.
- Galvanized pipes are made with a protective layer of zinc, which erodes over time and results in corrosion.
- If the city-owned portion of the service line was ever lead, the corroded areas of galvanized pipe can trap lead particles and release them over time.
- Galvanized pipes were installed in many homes in Fort Worth. While most homes in Fort Worth with galvanized service lines were built before 1970, a record review shows galvanized plumbing is in some homes built since then.