Epidemics of water-related lead

Several examples illustrate the unpredictability of the lead solvency of any given water supply. First, during the 1880s, cities and towns in the north of England experienced a severe outbreak of water-related lead poisoning. The British Medical Journal estimated that as many as eight million people might have been affected by the epidemic. The specific... 

Aside from the odd assignment of liability, the trial judge s ruling was blind to recent history. Between 1898 and 1900, there were several epidemic-like outbreaks of water-related lead poisoning in numerous cities and towns in Massachusetts. These outbreaks were documented by the state board of health, and enjoyed wide discussion among engineers and water company superintendents. 

Brown acknowledged that lead caused amenorrhea and disrupted the menstrual cycle, but he did not document or mention any such cases in the Bacup epidemic. Similarly, Brown was able to document only 7 cases of lead-related abortions. The absence of more cases of abortion, stillbirth, and menstrual abnormalities is surprising. Brown s own estimates of the amount of lead in Bacup s household tap water suggest that the women there would have ingested, on a daily basis, an amount of lead at least 20 times greater than the amount contained in the recommended daily dose of Dr. s abortion pills. (This calculation assumes women... 

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