Massachusetts Personal Injury Library

High Levels of Lead in Water Can Harm Children

Although water today is cleaner than it was twenty years ago, lead can still be found in tap water and water pipes that may seriously harm children. Lead is a heavy metal that occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Although children can be exposed to lead through soil, dust, or lead-based paint, they also can ingest lead in contaminated tap water.

Sources of lead that can contaminate water:

lead-based solder used in water pipes
leach into water from ceramic containers made with lead glazing
corrosion of older fixtures
near hazardous waste sites or lead smelters or refineries, battery recycling centers or industrial lead sources that leaches into ground water

How to tell if your tap water is contaminated with lead (CDC)?

Lead cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled when it’s in drinking water, and the only way to tell is to have the water tested.
For homes receiving public water, data on lead in tap water may be on the Internet of the local water authority. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the action level for lead is 15 parts per billion.
Have your children’s blood tested for lead levels.

Effects of high lead levels in tap water (CDC):

high lead levels in tap water enter the blood stream and cause an elevated lead blood level
infants who drink formula prepared with lead-contaminated water may be at a higher risk because of the large volume of water they drink relative to their body size
nervous system, blood and heart systems, and kidney can be affected

How to protect children from lead in tap water (CDC):

Ask you water authority what the lead level is in your home–if it is above the EPA level of 15 parts per billion, ask if the service pipe at the street has lead in it. If the service pipe does not have lead, it may be coming from inside your home.
Flush your water system by running the kitchen tap on cold for 1-2 minutes, then fill a clean container with water from this tap and use it for drinking, cooking, preparation of baby formula.
If the service pipe does contain lead, flush high-volume taps such as shower on cold for five minutes or more, then run the kitchen tap on cold for 1-2 minutes, then fill containers with water from this tap.
Don’t drink water from the hot tap because it may contain higher levels of lead. Boiling water does not reduce the amount of lead in your water.
Consume only bottled water or use a water filtration system.
Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to high lead levels, so the CDC recommends only using bottled water for cooking, drinking, and baby formula preparation.

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