The Dangers of Lead Piping in your Water System
By Jon Conrad, Filed Operation 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 Field Operation Manager, Jon Conrad.
In many older properties across the UK, lead piping remains hidden within walls, floors, and underground supply lines. While often out of sight, these ageing systems can pose a significant risk to water quality and long-term health. Understanding how to identify and manage these risks is essential for property owners, landlords, and facilities managers alike.
How to Identify Lead Pipework
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.
In addition to visual checks and the coin test, modern inspection techniques such as water sampling and pipe material analysis can provide more definitive confirmation. If there is any uncertainty, it is always advisable to consult a qualified professional rather than relying solely on visual inspection.
Where Lead Pipework Is Commonly Found
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.
They are most commonly found in buildings constructed before the 1970s, particularly in older residential properties, schools, and commercial buildings and may exist in supply pipes, internal plumbing, or even in fittings and solder used in joints. Dead-legs and infrequently used sections of pipework can increase the risk of contamination due to stagnant water.
Responsibility and Next Steps
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.
Pipework within the property, whether commercial or residential, remains the responsibility of the owner.
Once lead pipework has been identified and an initial coin test carried out, the next steps may include metal sampling and introducing a regular testing regime until the pipework can be removed, ensuring that lead levels remain within safe limits.
It is important to act promptly. Even low levels of lead exposure can build up in the body over time, leading to serious long-term health effects. Property owners should prioritise replacement programmes and ensure that any remedial work is carried out in line with current regulations and guidance. In the interim, temporary control measures – such as flushing systems or installing certified filtration – may help reduce exposure while permanent solutions are put in place.
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.
Health Risks of Lead Exposure
Lead poisoning can be very serious, particularly for infants, young children and pregnant 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
- High Blood Pressure
- 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
Because symptoms can be vague or develop gradually, lead exposure is often referred to as a “silent risk.” Regular monitoring of water quality, particularly in high-risk buildings, is therefore essential to ensure early detection and intervention.
Employers and duty holders also have a responsibility to protect occupants by maintaining safe water systems and complying with health and safety regulations. Read our blog on who is the responsible person.
Long-Term Effects and Treatment
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.
Ultimately, prevention is far more effective than treatment. Replacing outdated lead pipework, maintaining good system hygiene, and implementing routine testing can significantly reduce risks. By taking proactive steps, organisations and homeowners can safeguard both health and compliance, ensuring safe and clean water for all users.
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.
