Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
adults). That revelation engendered the need for costly updates of
drinking water systems throughout the country.
In Washington, D.C., for example, lead contamination discovered
in the drinking water in 2004 prompted a $400 million plan to replace
tens of thousands of service pipes made of lead. “Of approximately
130,000 residences served by the District of Columbia Water and
Sewer Authority (DCWASA), an estimated 18 percent have lead ser-
vice pipes,” according to a report in
Environmental Health Perspectives
,
the peer-reviewed journal of the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.
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“Lead is
in some older solder and plumbing fi xtures as well.”
The article goes on to point out that an “average 10 percent
to 20 percent of U.S. environmental lead exposure comes from
drinking water.”
The dangers of lead.
According to the EPA, homes built before
1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fi xtures, and solder. The fol-
lowing information about the dangers of lead appears on the EPA
web site.
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Complications associated with lead poisoning include:
Reduced IQ
Slowed body growth
Hearing problems
Behavior or attention problems
Failure at school
Kidney damage
The symptoms of lead poisoning may include:
Irritability
Aggressive behavior
Low appetite and energy
Diffi culty sleeping
Headaches
Reduced sensations
Loss of previous developmental skills (in young children)
Anemia
Constipation
