Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 146 posts

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#71

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

snowwrestler wrote: post #66
the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unless you're in Flint, or a paranoiac, tap water in the US is safe. Period. Given the size of the United States that's a very brave statement. Water quality in Europe is typically measured on on commune level and even in countries like Austria which pride themselves for drinkable tap water there are incidents which cause tap water to not be drinkable at times.

The U.S. is huge but it's also filled with a lot of people and a lot of local governments, state governments, and of course a federal government. If you want one independent source of proof that U.S. water is safe, consider that almost every U.S. child has blood work done on an annual basis. If elevated levels of lead are a problem, they would be detected at that time, as they were in Flint.

Lead in blood is always a problem. A few years back one in 35 children in the US had elevated lead levels.

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#72

Post by voltagex_ »

the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #39
voltagex_ wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doubtful: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/23o92d/on_co...

That one specifically mentions that the Romans knew about problems with lead?

Oops! Thanks.

Can't edit my original comment. Oh well.

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#73

Post by USAnum1 »

maxerickson wrote: post #29
USAnum1 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, up to the late 20th century many products other than pipes contained lead. Lead paint, leaded gasoline, etc. The jury was out on lead in everyday use until quite recently. I doubt the poisonous nature of lead was well known when these cities were built.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_paint#History

Most homes built before 1960 contain heavily leaded paint[0]. My assertion isn't that lead wasn't believed to be dangerous, rather that no one saw it as "seriously" dangerous.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead-based_paint_in_the_Unit...

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#74

Post by ascorbic »

manachar wrote: post #16
staunch wrote: post #2

Ancient Romans knew that lead water pipes were unhealthy and so they preferred terracotta pipes. It's hard to imagine why the U.S. ever had a single lead water pipe, let alone huge numbers of them. Updated with a reference for the downvoters: Sheets of lead were used to line Roman aqueducts (as was cement) and lead pipes to convey water. But lead also was known to be unwholesome and, for that reason, pipes made of cl…

Most houses in the U.S. built prior to a few decades ago have lead paint and many have asbestos. Then there's the whole leaded gasoline fiasco. The world has known of the danger of lead and many other dangerous substances, but often still chooses to use the dangerous substance. Sometimes it's because there weren't alternative substances that could do what needed to be done. Sometimes it was just a matter of expense.…

>Course, then there are cases like the leaded gasoline that should be considered one of the greatest crimes of all time.

And the man who was responsible for this was also responsible for CFCs. "He had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley,_Jr.

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#75

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

such_a_casual wrote: post #67
tn13 wrote: post #32

You can cheap water testing kits on amazon which you can use. Also not water is 100% safe and it makes a lot of sense to diversify the water sources. We use tap water for cooking, bottled water from different brands at home and workplace. That probably is good enough. I have tested water at home for lead and pesticides and found it to be safe to drink. [Sunnyvale]

Google says 45% of bottled water is just tap water. I will never understand this phenomena.

One of the problems is water pipes which are largely untested. Soneven if you drink the same water, bottled water might still be safer. In theory. Practically I doubt it matters for most people.

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#76

Post by coryrc »

Laforet wrote: post #64
thescriptkiddie wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but you really don't want to be drinking true deionized water. It isn't a about long term mineral loss, it is about the immediate discomfort of drinking it. It's fine for the first cup or two, but after that it starts to burn. Wash your hands with it and you'll find you skin is dry and cracking. You'll notice that reverse osmosis systems intended for producing drinking water have a much lower standard of purit…

>It's fine for the first cup or two, but after that it starts to burn. Wash your hands with it and you'll find you skin is dry and cracking. I have handled and, against my better judgement, quaffed many types of deionised water: triple glass distilled, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, etc. They taste more or less the same to store-bought distilled water and I have not yet had any of the ailments in your complaint. Ther…

Water departments are supposed to do surveys at residential taps to evaluate the effect of alkalinity on lead in the water as it is actually drank. Even the small town I came from does. Seattle, for example, made some changes based on these surveys: http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/W...

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#77

Post by nitrogen »

prewett wrote: post #53
akg_67 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Default to not drinking from taps directly. I live in Seattle. We only use tap water after filtering with a Brita Filter for drinking and cooking. When we are outside home, we either bring filtered water with us or buy bottled water. At restaurants, if in doubt we ask if water is directly from tap. Since the flint lead news, I have been exploring how can I get my tap water tested on a routine.

> Default to not drink from taps directly Why?? Tap water is highly regulated, and 1000 times cheaper than bottled water. It does not produce tons of plastic waste (much of which is not recycled). It does not leach possible carcinogens like BPA, DEHA, or BBP. Furthermore, much of the bottled water comes from municipal tap water! The Mayo Clinic says that tap water and bottled water are about equally safe. If you can'…

Why??

I don't carry my own water, but tap water served by many restaurants tastes absolutely awful. So that might be one reason why.

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#78

Post by sdk77 »

staunch wrote: post #2

Ancient Romans knew that lead water pipes were unhealthy and so they preferred terracotta pipes. It's hard to imagine why the U.S. ever had a single lead water pipe, let alone huge numbers of them. Updated with a reference for the downvoters: Sheets of lead were used to line Roman aqueducts (as was cement) and lead pipes to convey water. But lead also was known to be unwholesome and, for that reason, pipes made of cl…

>It's hard to imagine why the U.S. ever had a single lead water pipe, let alone huge numbers of them.

I always supposed that that's where the word 'plumber' came from, or 'loodgieter' (lead caster, Dutch). Both words strongly refer to lead. Growing up in Holland in the early 80's our house had lead pipes. When I bought my first house in 2003 it too still had a lead water main. I drank a lot of that water, tap water over here has the same purity (basically actually is the same) as mineral water, with no side effects.

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#79

Post by im3w1l »

such_a_casual wrote: post #67
tn13 wrote: post #32

You can cheap water testing kits on amazon which you can use. Also not water is 100% safe and it makes a lot of sense to diversify the water sources. We use tap water for cooking, bottled water from different brands at home and workplace. That probably is good enough. I have tested water at home for lead and pesticides and found it to be safe to drink. [Sunnyvale]

Google says 45% of bottled water is just tap water. I will never understand this phenomena.

As I currently don't have a Soda Stream, I'd pay for sparkling tap water. I don't think sparkling water can explain all those percentage points, but maybe some of them?

Re: Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint

#80

Post by ktRolster »

iofj wrote: post #21
ohthanks wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carbon filtration will not remove dissolved solids (lead, heavy metals) without added ion-exchange resins. RO is generally the most effective broad spectrum treatment method for drinking water. The mineral issue is pretty much bunk, if the lack of trace minerals in your water is a concern you need to see a doctor. Food is your body's preferred source of minerals, you have to drink a lot to have much effect on your da…

You will notice the taste difference though.

And for an extremely cool experience, try black water: http://getblk.com/

For varying definitions of extremely

Post reply on HN