The Dangers of Lead Piping in your Water System
By Simon Frost, National Compliance Manager
Older plumbing works and water systems have an increased risk of being contaminated with lead, which could lead to some serious health implications, explains Swiftclean’s National Field Manager, Simon Frost.
Unpainted lead pipes often appear dull grey, are softer than other metals, and often have a swollen joint next to the tap.
If you have suspected lead piping, you can do a quick simple coin test; whereby you scrape a coin along the surface of the assumed unpainted lead, and the surface will appear shiny, compared to the dull surface on the rest of the pipework.
Where the lead pipework begins from the local water source (whether that be tank or mains lead) the pipework may naturally bulge, as seen in the photos below, which show bulges in different areas of the system including a dead-leg.
We recommend that you speak to your local water authority if the incoming mains is suspected lead, as they would need to test and replace this. Inside the property, commercial or residential, is your responsibility.
Once you have suspected Lead and carried out a coin test, next steps can include metal sampling, and implementing a regular testing regime until it can be removed from the system, to ensure levels of lead in the system are safe.
Lead poisoning can be very serious, particularly for children and women. Side effects include infertility.
Children absorb lead more easily than adults so are at a greater risk. Low level lead poisoning can be hard to spot as symptoms are not always immediately obvious. Symptoms of those exposed to higher levels of lead can include:
• Headaches
• Blue line around the gums
• Tiredness
• Anaemia
• Abdominal pain and cramps
• Vomiting and diarrhoea
• Hearing problems
• Slow growth
• Foot and wrist drop
• Lack of physical coordination
• Convulsions
• Coma
• Death
Lead poisoning can cause permanent brain damage, central nervous system damage, a decrease in IQ, learning disabilities, and behavioural problems.
Along with the above symptoms, in adults, lead poisoning can also cause infertility, hearing difficulties, kidney disease, kidney failure, brain damage and damage to the central nervous system. In women, lead poisoning can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, premature birth, and foetal development problems.
Treatment of both adults and children involves removing the source of the lead as urgently as possible. In low-level lead poisoning this can be all that is needed for the patient to start to recover. In cases with a higher exposure to lead, chelation drugs are used to help the body remove it.
If you suspect lead poisoning, you must contact your doctor immediately.
Case Study
We were recently completing a legionella risk assessment, in an education setting, in a building predating 1970, where it was found that suspected lead was on site.
We carried out tests, including the coin test mentioned above, then carried out the following steps to resolve this:
• We assessed the system to ensure that any old plumbing systems on a site had not been used in any part which comes into contact with drinking water.
• We carried out tests to establish if lead was present, sent to a UKAS accredited laboratory.
• We then recommended to the client that all lead piping was to be removed and replaced with more modern, safer materials, such as WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) approved piping.
• The system would then be compliant and risk of lead poisoning removed.
Not only will removing lead remove the poisoning effect as stated above, but there is also potential for the metal minerals to provide a food source for Legionella.
Heightened risk of Legionella can lead to Legionellosis (also known as Legionnaires’ disease), which is a progressive and potentially fatal atypical pneumonia caused by the inhalation of tiny water droplets containing Legionella bacteria. The onset is relatively abrupt with a membrane covering the lungs (pleurisy), high fever, headache, muscle pains, chills, confusion, etc, which can in some cases lead to death. It is often treated in hospital with antibiotics, oxygen and breathing assistance and can take up to a year to fully recover.
