Plumbing lead piping

Lead levels ranging between 10 and 30 pg/L can be found in drinking water from households, schools, and office buildings as a result of plumbing corrosion and subsequent leaching of lead. The combination of corrosive water and lead pipes or lead-soldered joints in either the distribution system or individual houses can create localized zones of high lead concentrations that exceed 500 pg/L (EPA 1989f). 

ORIGIN OF NAME The name "lead" is the old Anglo-Saxon word for this well-known element, and the symbol for lead (Pb) is derived from the Latin word plumbum, which is also the root word for "plumber," related to the use of lead pipes in ancient Roman plumbing systems. Some of these lead pipes can still be seen in parts of modern-day Rome. 

Health authorities have warned against the use of copper or stainless steel fittings in contact with the lead piping that is still found in domestic plumbing in some older houses in Britain. 

A plumb bob, a heavy weight attached to a string and used by carpenters and surveyors to establish a straight vertical line, gets it name from the lead (plumbum, Pb) that is still sometimes used as the weight. Plumbers got their name because they once worked with lead pipes. 

Lead acid batteries solder alloys cable sheathing pigment rust inhibitors ammunition glazes plastic stabilizers antiknock compounds in petrol plumbing fittings solder lead pipes 23, 3513,3529, 353,361,372, 38... 

Lead in Drinking Water. The naturally soft, slightly acidic, plumbosolvent water of the Loch Katrine water supply for the Glasgow area was recognized many years ago to release lead from the lead pipes and tanks in the domestic plumbing of the Victorian and subsequent (even post-World War II) eras. ... 

The drinking water standard for dissolved lead is 50 /ig/L, Lead concentrations in drinking water often exceed this amount when the water has passed through lead pipes or been stored in lead tanks and its pH is below 7.0 to 7.5. High-lead problems caused by lead plumbing are most common in houses constructed prior to 1960 (cf. Raab et al. 1993). 

In most countries lead pipes are forbidden nowad s and lead pipes are only found in old houses. Lead pipes are encountered almost exclusively in the service pipe and internal plumbing systems. 

Whilst lead pipes are the main somce of high lead concentrations, lead concentrations higher than 10 4g/l can also be observed for properties without any lead pipes. Lead-based solders (for copper plumbing), copper alloys (brasses and bronzes) used mainly for fittings, galvanized steel pipes and uPVC (when stabilized with lead salts) can release lead into drinking water. 

The effect of the dimensions (length and diameter) of lead pipes and other characteristics of domestic plumbing can influence the dissolution of lead ... 

This figure shows that for installations without lead pipes, the parametric value of 10 ag/l was exceeded in 7% of these properties. Generally, the intermediate parametric value of 25 qg/1 was met in properties without lead pipes. In about 40 % of the tested lead-plumbed properties, the lead eoncentration complied with the parametric value of 10 qg/1. 

Plumbing design The final metal concentration at the tap is not just determined by water quality. Metal release by metal pipes is also strongly influenced by the type of domestic drinking water installation, such as materials and dimensions (length and diameter). The increase in metal concentration with stagnation time varies with the pipe diameter (Kuch et al., 1983). For instance for lead pipes, calculated and experimental stagnation curves show that 90 % of the maximum lead concentration is reached after 2 hours for pipes of 10-mm internal diameter but more than 24 hours for pipes of 50-mm diameter. 

Together with the aqueducts, the Romans also advanced the technology of water distribution from the aqueducts to multiple sites—baths, residences, fountains, etc. Plumbing is derived from the Latin word plumbum which means lead. Piping used in Roman times included lead pipes, masonry channels as well as earthenware pipes. The water was delivered to baths and some public homes at a constant rate. The cost of the water was charged based on the pipe cross-sectional area, which served as a restriction orifice (Chanson, 2002,2008). 

Lead has historically been used in plumbing. The Romans used lead pipes to carry water into their homes. 

Lead compounds may be found in drinking water where lead piping is used for plumbing purposes. Galvanized water pipes may also release traces of lead since zinc is always accompanied by traces of lead. Similarly, lead stabilizers in polyvinyl chloride pipes may lead to the release of traces of lead into water passing through the pipes. 

Water can eat away at and release lead from plumbing systems. The characteristics of the water, such as its pH and hardness, affect how corrosive it is, and therefore how much of the lead it carries away. Lead pipes have not been used for decades, but many homes are still connected to municipal services containing old lead pipes. Although lead solder has been outlawed for use in residential plumbing systems since 1986, it nonetheless joins together the copper pipes in many homes. Brass faucets can still contain up to 8% lead. These lead sources can be present in our water distribution systems or in our homes themselves. 

After 1930, lead pipes became too expensive, so copper pipes were used instead. But the copper pipes were soldered together with lead. Lead solder was commonly used until 1986, when it was outlawed. However, it continues to be used illegally, and is still manufactured and on the market. Only its use in household plumbing installation and repair is prohibited. 

In 1986, lead pipes and solder were banned for use in installation and repair of residential plumbing. 

An important source of lead leading to human exposure is that contained in drinking water. Treatment processes for public water supplies are unlikely to reduce the concentration of filterable lead in the raw water, except where processes such as precipitation water softening are used [25]. Fortunately, however, the concentrations of lead in the raw water are generally fairly low, <0.01 mg dm". Many tap water samples, nevertheless, reveal significantly elevated lead levels, which may occasionally rise to over 1 mg dm . These elevated concentrations are found in areas where the plumbing system is based on lead pipes. 

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